Free Republic

It's the fear of many air travelers: Step into full-body scanning machines and Transportation Security Administration officers might get an eyeful of their private parts. That is apparently what has been happening on a regular basis — at least during TSA training sessions — and earlier this week it led one Miami International Airport transportation security officer to allegedly attack a co-worker with a baton. The co-worker had been making fun of the size of the officer's genitals, according to Miami-Dade police.

By KAREN VELIE CalCoastNews has learned that two San Luis Obispo police officers have pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of bringing misbranded Mexican prescription drugs into the United States at the San Ysidro port of entry south of San Diego. The officers, Dan McDow and Armando Limon, pleaded guilty to the misdemeanors in exchange for no jail time and a year of unsupervised probation, according to court documents obtained by CalCoastNews. Last Sept. 15, the two officers were stopped and detained while reentering the U.S. from the Mexican border town of Tijuana, said Lauren Mack, spokesperson for Immigration and Customs...

Dog ate out of peanut butter jar, which was then put back on the shelf for unsuspecting officers If a Fort Lauderdale police officer offers you a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, run away. Several high-ranking officers are under investigation and could face criminal charges for letting a dog eat out of a peanut butter jar and then placing it back on the shelf for other unsuspecting officers to use, according to the South Florida Times. It's unclear how many officers ate the contaminated peanut butter, but the prank wasn't discovered until after a detective realized he had caught several...

In Providence, RI three cops are among those arrested after a four-month investigation into an alleged drug trafficking ring, and one of the cops -- Sgt. Stephen T. Gonsalves -- is "a former driver for Mayor David N. Cicilline and husband of the mayor's executive assistant" Xiomara Gonsalves as reported by Thomas J. Morgan and Richard C. Dujardin for The Providence Journal. The other two cops are Detective Sgt. Joseph A. Colanduano, "a narcotics detective assigned to the Narcotics and Organized Crime Bureau" who has been "charged with conspiracy to deliver cocaine and compounding and concealing a felony, and larceny...

The Obama administration's choice to lead the Transportation Security Administration is withdrawing his nomination. In a statement, Erroll Southers says he is withdrawing because his nomination has become a lightning rod for those with a political agenda. Obama tapped Southers to lead the TSA in September but his confirmation has been blocked by Republican Sen. Jim DeMint, who says he's worried Southers would allow TSA employees to join a labor union.

A Minneapolis police officer has been arrested in connection with a series of robberies in Apple Valley. Timothy Edward Carson, 28, was booked into the Dakota County Jail early Thursday morning on probable cause of first-degree aggravated robbery. Carson is assigned to the 3rd Precinct, and is a member of the SWAT team. "This is probably the most shocking thing I've seen in my 30 years, as far as what a police officer could have done," Minneapolis Police Chief Tim Dolan said in an interview on radio station WCCO. "This tops it all." Police said they have linked him to...

Former police association contractor charged with snooping on 'Joe the Plumber' Wednesday, October 14, 2009 11:42 AM By Randy Ludlow The Columbus Dispatch A former contractor for the Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police has been charged with rummaging through state computers to retrieve confidential information about "Joe the Plumber." Brett A. Gerke, 52, of 2329 Woodcreek Place on the Far North Side, is charged with attempted unauthorized use of property. Gerke entered a diversion program on Oct. 2, which typically results in the dismissal of a criminal charge. He has not entered a plea. The charge is a first-degree...

ERICHO, Ark. (AP) -- It was just too much, having to return to court twice on the same day to contest yet another traffic ticket, and Fire Chief Don Payne didn't hesitate to tell the judge what he thought of the police and their speed traps. The response from cops? They shot him. Right there in court.

WILKES-BARRE - Luzerne Sheriff Michael A. Savokinas abruptly resigned Tuesday afternoon, ending a 20-month stint in office that often was plagued by controversy and clashes with other county officials. "At this time, my presence seems to be a distraction for my already over-worked staff," Savokinas wrote in a three-page resignation letter to Gov. Ed Rendell. Savokinas, 36, complained about a "witch hunt" and smear campaign "orchestrated by county officials" to drag his "reputation through the mud," and claimed drugs found in his vehicle "were planted as a possible political vendetta." Savokinas added he "can no longer do justice to my...

Sex Trade Ring Busted in Houston, Ex-Police Officer and 5 Others Charged August 26, 2009 HOUSTON — A sex trade ring in which young girls were allegedly pistol-whipped and forced from their homes into sexual slavery was broken up in Houston this week and several suspects are in custody. Five people, including a former Houston police officer, were arrested in the largest sex trafficking case in Texas' southern district, MyFOXHouston.com reported. A sixth remains on the run. John Butler, 47, William Hornbeak, 34, Jamine Lake, 27, Andre McDaniels, 39, and Kristen Land, 28, all of Houston, as well as Tulsa,...

Police are removing valuables from unlocked cars to shock motorists into being more careful. Officers in London are taking everything from handbags to satnavs, and leaving a note telling drivers their property is at a local police station.

Gay Cop Profiled Illegal Aliens for Molestation

A jumpy cat caused a distraction, report saysHOLLYWOOD - After a Hollywood police officer rear-ended a car in February and then arrested the driver on drunken driving charges, he and other officers talked about doctoring the report -- it said a jumpy cat created a distraction -- to cover up the crash. The exchange was recorded by a dashboard camera in one of the patrol cars. The officers apparently didn't realize it was on.

As late as three weeks ago, two months after court records show the state of Maryland agreed to settle a lawsuit with money and words of contrition over the arrest of a musician accused of e-mailing a bomb threat to the airport, he was still in court fighting to get authorities to say they were sorry.

<p>WHEN AGNES LAWLESS and three friends were inside a Lukoil convenience store in the Northeast at 3 a.m. last August, they'd all but forgotten the fender-bender in which they'd been involved moments earlier.</p> <p>There was little damage, and the other driver had left the scene, near Northeast Philadelphia Airport.</p>

(AP Photo/El Monte Police Department) It all started out with a kick to the head. True, the suspect was not exactly one to elicit sympathy, but that's not the point. A free society cannot tolerate police acting outside the law to administer physical punishment. Except Dean Scoville, "Associate Editor of Police Magazine and a retired patrol supervisor and investigator with the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department," disagrees with that: There was a time when post pursuit ass-kickings were obligatory. Cops knew it, suspects knew it, and there are enough old timers on both sides of the fence that will verify the...

Cop taped beating Chicago bartender gets probation By DON BABWIN Associated Press Writer CHICAGO (AP) -- An off-duty Chicago police officer convicted of pummeling a female bartender half his size was sentenced Tuesday to two years probation and anger management classes for the videotaped attack that appeared worldwide on the Internet and cable news channels.

San Diego police Officer Frank White was found not guilty yesterday of criminal charges resulting from the shooting and wounding of a mother and her young son during a road-rage incident last year. A Vista Superior Court jury acquitted White, 29, of a felony count of grossly negligent discharge of a firearm and a misdemeanor count of exhibiting a firearm. White showed little emotion as the verdicts were read about 4 p.m., but after the jury left the courtroom, he bear-hugged his attorney, Rick Pinckard, then his wife, Jacquellyn.

History and social analysis of the Duke lacrosse case, retold in part from original documents; compared and contrasted with the social history of the Scottsboro trials.

Veteran Miami-Dade prosecutor David Ranck faces battery charges after an alleged scuffle with a pizza delivery woman on Saturday during a delivery that went horribly wrong. It's the second report of prosecutors gone wild in the past week. A Broward County prosecutor was arrested late last week for punching a cop in the back of the head during a barroom fight. At least he picked on a man. According to police reports, Ranck and the unidentified woman got into a shouting match when the delivery person couldn't get into the attorney's gated community. After a bit of shouting that woke...