Free Republic

That icon of police transportation, a vehicle so sturdy and beloved and ubiquitous that it became virtual wallpaper on TV cop shows and local streets – the Ford Crown Victoria – is dead. The upshot is this: For many police agencies, it’s time to buy a new car. Ford stopped making the Crown Vic four years ago, saying sales to the public had fallen to the point that the car is no longer viable, even if demand from police agencies remained strong. Fuel efficiency (or in the Crown Vic’s case, inefficiency) played a role.

On September 11th, 2002, suspected Sniper John Allen Muhammad walked into the Camden, New Jersey State Motor Vehicles office, to register the now-notorious "blue Caprice" he'd just purchased. Though the car had not yet converted been into a rolling sniper's nest, what happened in the next several minutes leaves little doubt that Muhammad had something sinister in mind. The registration transaction began at 8:52 am. At 8:58 am., while Muhammad was still standing at the counter, someone (now believed to be fellow suspect, Lee Malvo) phoned a bomb threat at the Motor Vehicles office on the 1st Anniversary of what...

US sniper 'linked to terror cult' By James Langton in New York, Evening Standard 14 October 2003 Evidence has emerged linking Washington sniper John Allen Muhammad with an Islamic terror group. Muhammad has been connected to Al Fuqra, a cult devoted to spiritual purification through violence. The group has been linked to British shoe bomber Richard Reid and the murderers of American journalist Daniel Pearl in Pakistan last year. Muhammad today stands trial for murder after bringing terror to America's suburbs along with a 17-year-old accomplice, Lee Malvo. Until now many believed that the killing spree, which left 10 dead,...

Mysterious tear gas canister sickens 43 in city By KIRK SWAUGER and PETE BOSAK, the tribune-democrat November 20, 2002 In violence called domestic terrorism by authorities, a canister of highly potent riot gas was detonated in a busy Johnstown neighborhood yesterday, sending 43 passers-by to hospitals. None of the patients was seriously injured by the gas, which is only available to the military or large police departments. An unnamed victim was admitted to nearby Memorial Medical Center for observation. All others were treated and later released from local hospitals. Symptoms ranged from tightness in the chest and tearing and burning...