Free Republic

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...

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- A man who said he thought he was just helping a woman in need is accused of running an illegal taxi service. Miami-Dade County's Consumer Services Department has slapped Rosco O'Neil with $2,000 worth of fines, but O'Neil claims he is falsely accused. "I ain't running nothing illegal," O’Neil said. The 78-year-old said he was walking into a Winn-Dixie to get some groceries when he was approached by a woman who said she needed a ride.

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court affirmed Wednesday that police have the power to conduct searches and seize evidence, even when done during an arrest that turns out to have violated state law. The unanimous decision comes in a case from Portsmouth, Va., where city detectives seized crack cocaine from a motorist after arresting him for a traffic ticket offense. David Lee Moore was pulled over for driving on a suspended license. The violation is a minor crime in Virginia and calls for police to issue a court summons and let the driver go. Instead, city detectives arrested Moore and prosecutors...

OAKLAND, Calif. (KCBS) -- Oakland police are worried that more and more people will take the law into their own hands, after two store owners shot two robbers in recent days. People have a right to protect themselves, but things can get out of hand quickly if everyone starts packing a weapon, said Deputy Police Chief Dave Kozicki. "That's a concern that law enforcement has all the time, that people will engage in vigilantism," said Kozicki. A 22-year-old Oakland man was shot at least three times and critically wounded when he tried to hold up a liquor store Saturday night....

A driver nailed by a roving radar truck in San Jose is taking his case to court in hopes of getting back the money he spent on speeding tickets and increases in insurance costs for himself and others mailed fines by the city. The city killed the program that put white radar photo vans on the streets to cut down on speeding after questions were raised in 2006 about the legality of having city engineers - not cops - write citations. But that was after officials had issued about $5 million worth of tickets through the decade-old program. In 2006...

MIAMI -- Officers from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives barged into a South Florida home Wednesday only to discover they had the wrong address. The ATF agents were supposed to conduct a raid at a home in the 2600 block of Northwest 49th Terrace in northwest Miami-Dade County, but they were off by one block. They entered a house on Northwest 49th Street instead. A mother and her 2-year-old boy were among the innocent people inside the home when the agents came in

South Africa’s deputy security minister has told police how to tackle rampant crime in their cities: “kill the bastards”, and do not worry about regulations. “You must kill the bastards if they threaten you or the community,” Susan Shabangu, told a local police forum in Pretoria. “I want to assure the police station commissioners and policemen and women that they have permission to kill these criminals. “You must not worry about the regulations. That is my responsibility. Your responsibility is to serve and protect,” she added. “I won’t tolerate any pathetic excuses for you not being able to deal with...

BROOKLYN, Ohio -- Have you ever put a case of water or something heavy under your shopping cart and then forgotten about it? A Cleveland man did, and it landed him in jail, television station WEWS reported. Tom Sturgis has a long receipt showing the $157.20 worth of two grocery carts full of groceries that he bought at a Brooklyn supermarket Saturday night. After going through the self checkout, Sturgis said he forgot a $4 case of pop under the cart.

Mug shots taken of suspected shoplifters and then posted online has spurred debate over the rights of people who may or may not have committed a crime. Avondale has joined the list of cities posting mugshots over the Internet. The photos show adults arrested and accused of shoplifting, even if they haven't been convicted of a crime. Avondale police officials said it's a way of helping merchants by cracking down on shoplifting, which peaked at 94 reports in October. The American Civil Liberties Union along with defense attorneys question whether the practice infringes on citizens' rights. "I think we have...

Officer, lawmaker team up Those who peer at children in public could find themselves on the wrong side of the law in Maine soon. A bill that passed the House last month aims to strengthen the crime of visual sexual aggression against children, according to state Rep. Dawn Hill, D-York. Her involvement started when Ogunquit Police Lt. David Alexander was called to a local beach to deal with a man who appeared to be observing children entering the community bathrooms. Because the state statute prevents arrests for visual sexual aggression of a child in a public place, Alexander said he...

COLUMBIA, S.C. - A state trooper is seen kicking a suspect in the head multiple times after a high-speed interstate chase in the latest in a string of alarming Highway Patrol videos. In two other videos, a trooper punches a suspect several times in the face after a pursuit and a different officer appears to hit a suspect with the barrel of a shotgun during a traffic stop. The Department of Public Safety released the videos, recorded in 2006, on Monday following media requests. They are the latest to surface showing troopers acting aggressively toward suspects. Highway Patrol Col. Russell...

A tangle with a cop and an achy heartBy Jeri Rowe Staff writer Tuesday, Apr. 1, 2008 3:00 am GREENSBORO — Alexander Kohanowich is a patriotic guy. His six grandchildren call him Pop. For at least five years, Pop has traveled around our city, showing his support for American troops overseas. He doesn't say much. He just holds his signs at busy intersections and busy events to get people's attention. Maybe you've seen him. He'll hang, say, on Westover Terrace, near Wendover. He'll face east in the morning, west in the afternoon, so drivers can see his signs clearly, without...

Today's New York Post reports that new Governor David Paterson has authorized Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to launch a criminal probe into the New York State Police. The allegations to be investigated include illegal leaks of information statewide, politically motivated investigations and looking the other way while former Governor Eliot Spitzer repeatedly patronized high priced prostitutes. If this is how the state's police operate, no wonder Hillary has expressed interest in running for governor if her presidential bid fails.

March 31, 2008 ALBANY - The scandal-scarred State Police is suspected of harboring a renegade unit that for years has secretly compiled personal information on top New York officials - possibly including Gov. Paterson, The Post has learned. The governor got a whiff of the existence of such an illegal, politically directed operation after being told by several lawmakers that the State Police targeted them for unjustified traffic stops and "interfered in their personal lives," a senior Paterson aide told The Post yesterday. The explosive information - supplied to Paterson by both Democrats and Republicans - suggests that the Dirty...

A 23-year Atlanta Police Department veteran pleaded guilty on Monday to conspiring to violate civil rights by searching a private residence without a warrant, federal prosecutors said. Wilbert Stallings, 44, of Conyers, a sergeant in the department's narcotics unit, faces up to 10 years in prison and up to $250,000 in fines. A sentencing date wasn't immediately set.

Boston police officials, surprised by intense opposition from residents, have significantly scaled back and delayed the start of a program that would allow officers to go into people's homes and search for guns without a warrant. The program, dubbed Safe Homes, was supposed to start in December, but has been delayed at least three times because of misgivings in the community. March 1 was the latest missed start date.

The Metropolitan Police Department yesterday moved cautiously into its program to ask to search homes in the District for illegal guns while civil rights activists knocked on doors and used bullhorns to keep residents from participating. "We shouldn't make the next casualty of street violence cherished civil rights," said Johnny Barnes, director of American Civil Liberties Union of the National Capital Area. "We're very uncomfortable with police randomly banging on doors without probable cause asking for access." The department initiated its program by distributing literature at police stations and Boys and Girls Clubs to gauge public interest. It plans to...

Boston police officials, surprised by intense opposition from residents, have significantly scaled back and delayed the start of a program that would allow officers to go into people's homes and search for guns without a warrant. The program, dubbed Safe Homes, was supposed to start in December, but has been delayed at least three times because of misgivings in the community. March 1 was the latest missed start date. One community group has been circulating a petition against the plan. Police officials trying to assuage residents' fears have been drowned out by criticism at some meetings with residents and elected...

WASHINGTON -- A crackdown on guns is meeting some resistance in the District. Police are asking residents to submit to voluntary searches in exchange for amnesty under the District's gun ban. They passed out fliers requesting cooperation on Monday. The program will begin in a couple of weeks in the Washington Highlands neighborhood of southeast Washington and will later expand to other neighborhoods. Officers will go door to door asking residents for permission to search their homes. Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier said the "safe homes initiative" is aimed at residents who want to cooperate with police. She gave the...

The current leadership of the Washington, DC Metropolitan Police Department is an exercise in political correctness that will likely become a national laughingstock. The hopes of beleaguered citizens of the District of Columbia were dashed at the appointment of Cathy Lanier to become chief of police following the departure of Charles Ramsey, derisively known at "Chief Wiggums". Ramsey presided over the crime wave on the National Mall and could not find the body of missing intern Chandra Levy for nearly two years until a man walking his dog in Rock Creek Park discovered a leg bone. Ramsey has moved on...

WASHINGTON -- A crackdown on guns is under way in the District. Police are asking residents to submit to voluntary searches in exchange for amnesty under the District's gun ban. The program is starting in the Washington Highlands neighborhood of Southeast Washington on Monday and will later expand to other neighborhoods. Officers will go door to door asking residents for permission to search their homes. Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier said the "safe homes initiative" is aimed at residents who want to cooperate with police. She gave the example of parents or grandparents who know or suspect their children have...

CHICAGO (AP) — Treffly Coyne was out of her car for just minutes and no more than 10 yards away. But that was long and far enough to land her in court after a police officer spotted her sleeping 2-year-old daughter alone in the vehicle; Coyne had taken her two older daughters to pour $8.29 in coins into a Salvation Army kettle. Minutes later, she was under arrest — the focus of both a police investigation and a probe by the state's child welfare agency. Now the case that has become an Internet flash point for people who either blast...

ANN ARBOR, MI — Without a warrant or other legal authorization, uniformed police officers conducted several raids on Faith Baptist Church in Waterford Township, Michigan, and threatened to prosecute several young Christian musicians for disorderly conduct – because the Township prosecutor objected to the playing of contemporary religious music. “Praise and worship” music is a central part of Faith Baptist’s religious services. The Thomas More Law Center, a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, filed a federal lawsuit on Monday against the Waterford Township supervisor, prosecutor and two high ranking police officials. The lawsuit was prompted...

Police: 'You fit the profile' By BRENDAN J. LYONS Senior writer First published: Sunday, March 2, 2008 ALBANY-- The cops in the marked patrol car had circled through West Hill a couple times keeping an eye on their female target. They were part of the Street Drug Unit, an aggressive squad assigned to help rid Albany's neighborhoods of drug dealers and addicts blamed for much of the city's problems. It was early evening and already dark when the patrol car's emergency lights flashed in the rearview mirror of Lisa Shutter's Mitsubishi sedan on Quail Street, just off Central Avenue. Police...

Citing recent killing rampages in the United States, a federal appeals court on Tuesday threw out a Maryland firefighter’s claim that Gaithersburg police unreasonably searched his home and took his collection of 41 guns and ammunition after responding to a report that he was armed, suicidal and could be a threat to his co-workers. In a 3-0 ruling, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the police were justified in conducting the warrantless search and seizure in an era of unprecedented domestic carnage at schools, workplaces and shopping malls. “Police, then, simply must be entitled to take effective preventive...

Tiny plastic bags used to sell small quantities of heroin, crack cocaine, marijuana and other drugs would be banned in Chicago, under a crackdown advanced Tuesday by a City Council committee. Ald. Robert Fioretti (2nd) persuaded the Health Committee to ban possession of "self-sealing plastic bags under two inches in either height or width," after picking up 15 of the bags on a recent Sunday afternoon stroll through a West Side park.

U.S. incarcerates more than any other nation: report Thu Feb 28, 2008 7:20pm EST By James Vicini WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States incarcerates more people than any other country in the world and for the first time in the nation's history, more than one in every 100 American adults is confined in a prison or jail, according to a report released on Thursday. The report by the Pew Center on the States said the American penal system held more than 2.3 million adults at the start of the year. The far more populous nation of China ranked second with...

" For the first time in history, more than one in every 100 American adults is in jail or prison, according to a new report tracking the surge in inmate population and urging states to rein in corrections costs with alternative sentencing programs."

RYAN FREDERICK is no hero, no matter what they're saying about him on the Internet. He's the 28-year-old Chesapeake man being held in the Jan. 17 shooting death of Detective Jarrod Shivers. Shivers, 34, was executing a drug search warrant at Frederick's residence the night he was killed. According to police, the eight-year police veteran was hit in the arm and chest by a shot fired from inside the house. In a jailhouse interview, Frederick said he was in bed when the police came to his door about 8:30 p.m. Awakened by his barking dogs, Frederick said, he thought his...

Senior police officers are increasing pressure for all British citizens to be put on a DNA database. Their call for a national debate on whether everyone should be forced to give DNA samples to the authorities follows last week's convictions of two killers identified using "genetic fingerprints" - and comes as senior Scotland Yard officials have reportedly stated that new DNA evidence "will nail" the racist killers of teenager Stephen Lawrence. Scotland Yard "is confident" that there will be a prosecution and a trial in that case, the Sunday Times has reported. DNA nabbed 'Suffolk Strangler' Steve Wright, left, and...

BRADENTON In Florida, the law on red light cameras puts cities and police departments in an odd position. They can install the cameras, photograph cars that go through a red light and send the driver a warning. What the law does not allow, however, is sending the driver a traffic ticket. But some cities and counties have found a way around that. Across Florida, local officials are using the cameras and a loophole in the law to issue "civil violations" instead of moving violations to fine drivers for running red lights. It is the same method governments use to go...

Son got his first ticket. Policeman said he didn't stop at a stop sign. It was dark, not even street lights in this area, but he saw this difficult-to-tell action in the dark, when Nathan says he had come to a stop. He didn't argue though. But then he wanted to search the car. We've always told son not to agree to that, there is no reason. (actually, his former-cop dad told him don't agree to it) Dad is not in the picture, so I have to ask you all. This was his first traffic stop and he was nervous....

A Northwest Side man has been charged with 12 weapons violations after Chicago police said officers raided his home and confiscated three handguns, three shotguns, six long rifles and several hundred rounds of ammunition.

There was an outcry at the statehouse Wednesday from county sheriffs objecting to a bill they say would make it harder for them to deny permits to carry concealed weapons. The bill changes Iowa law to say the sheriff shall issue a permit except for a limited list of reasons, including felony convictions and drug addiction. If a permit's denied a written explanation would be required. Representative Clel Baudler, a Republican from Greenfield, says there needs to be more consistency statewide in issuing the permits. Dubuque county Sheriff Kenneth Runde said that won't work. He said if he knows someone...

Article is in PDF format. Quotes: "The welfare subsidy on single-mother homes was never really ended so much as it was shifted. Reformers essentially replaced welfare with child support, on the reasonable but largely irrelevant principle that fathers rather than taxpayers should be supporting their children (which is irrelevant for reasons we will see)." "Child support thus transformed welfare from public assistance into law enforcement, creating a federal plainclothes police force with no clear constitutional authority." "Perhaps the most striking aspect of this mobilization is that the initiative came entirely from government officials. No public outcry ever preceded these measures,...

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and Police Superintendent Warren Riley on Tuesday used the floor of the Superdome to display more than $1 million in new armament and other equipment, largely for use by the SWAT squad in emergency and riot situations, including a fully equipped mobile command post, two armored cars and modern assault rifles.

As Boston police prepare to go into some of the city's most dangerous neighborhoods, knock on doors of private houses, and ask if they can search for illegal guns without a warrant, officials are trying to pitch the idea of the plan as friendly cooperation to residents who still see it as a threatening intrusion. A friendly looking logo - a drawing of a house surrounded by the sun - adorns the brochure police have drafted to explain and promote the initiative, "Safe Homes." Photos of officers playing baseball with children and chatting with teenagers dot the pamphlet. Twice, police...

Cody Hauer is an enthusiastic Ron Paul supporter, but it could cost him more than $550 after receiving four citations in one week for having a large decal on his rear window. Hauer, 18, decided to support the Republican presidential hopeful by displaying a 13-inch-by-40-inch "Ron Paul Revolution" decal on his Buick Park Avenue. The problem is, such decals are illegal if they obstruct the driver's view. Still, Hauer questions whether he was targeted and says he plans to contest each citation in court next month. "I support Ron Paul, the city Police Department doesn't," he said. "They gave me...

Technology already exists that could lead to the tracking of purchases and people. Critics fear a loss of privacy. Here's a vision of the not-so-distant future: • Microchips with antennas will be embedded in virtually everything you buy, wear, drive and read, allowing retailers and law enforcement to track consumer items — and, by extension, consumers — wherever they go, from a distance. • A seamless, global network of electronic "sniffers" will scan radio tags in myriad public settings, identifying people and their tastes instantly so that customized ads, "live spam," may be beamed at them. • In "Smart Homes,"...

Mother warns community about 'Nazi' home invasion Officers told her 'rights' were 'only in the movies' Posted: January 10, 2008 1:00 a.m. Eastern By Bob Unruh © 2008 WorldNetDaily.com The mother of an 11-year-old boy abducted by SWAT team members and taken to a hospital after he was bruised while horsing around is warning members of her community of the "Nazi" tactics she endured, including a statement from the officers that her "rights" were "only in the movies." The case involves Jon Shiflett, who injured himself while trying to grab the handle of a door on a car his sister...

A judge has given a thumbs down to a family of American missionaries who had sought permission to remain in Germany, where they have been serving a church work in Nurnberg. "Yesterday we learned that the court has refused to rule on the Robinsons' behalf. The court's ruling was entirely on a procedural matter; the court refused to deal with the question as to whether the refusal to grant a permit to stay in Germany is ill-founded or not...," he said. When they arrived, they applied for a residency permit, required by the government. But local authorities immediately reacted to...

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- A 75-year-old woman was arrested at a Clearwater McDonald's drive-thru, because police say she wouldn't pull her car forward. Authorities said Jean Merola, a grandmother of eight, was arrested for disorderly conduct after she refused an officer's orders to move her car while she waited for the coffee and fries she ordered at the drive-through window. Merola said the McDonald's employees told her to wait there for her food. Merola was handcuffed behind her back and put in the cruiser. Another officer arrived and took her to the Pinellas County Jail . Merola said she was searched,...

Charges dropped in police dog taunting case The Associated Press PITTSBURGH - A Pittsburgh man accused of taunting a police dog is no longer facing criminal charges. Allegheny County prosecutors dropped a felony charge of taunting a police dog because 23-year-old Kenneth King has completed anger management charges. Police say King taunted and threatened to kill Benny, a German shepherd. King says he yelled at the dog because it barked and startled him when he walked past a police vehicle. King spent nine days in jail in October in the case because he couldn't post $100,000 bail.