February 2010

Calif. officers attacked in shootout identified

Detective Joel Wahlenmaier was killed, and Officer Javier Bejar is not expected to liveAssociated PressFRESNO, Calif. — Investigators believe the gunman who killed a California deputy in a mobile home shootout was a former security guard who once had a permit to carry weapons, law enforcement officials told The Associated Press Friday.A person close to the investigation said suspect Rick “Ricky” Ray Liles, 51, who also died in the shooting, was named in a search warrant involving previous arsons and random gunshots that was being served when Thursday’s gunbattle erupted.The people spoke on the condition of anonymity …Read more […..]

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Killed Because They Were Cops

“Reprinted with permission of the author and American Police Beat.” In the Line of DutyBy Craig W. Floyd, Chairman & CEO, January 1, 2010This past year has been punctuated by intense bursts of violence against our nation’s peace officers. Fifteen law enforcement officers have been shot to death over the last 12 months in just five separate multiple-death incidents.The most recent of these heinous acts occurred just after 8 am, on Sunday, November 29, 2009, when a lone gunman walked into a Pierce County, Washington coffee shop and opened fire on four officers from the Lakewood (WA) Police Department …Read more […..]

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Supreme Court backs police on questioning subjects

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Tuesday approved Florida’s version of the well-known Miranda rights warning, despite complaints that it wasn’t clear a suspect could have a lawyer present during questioning.The court’s 7-2 decision restoring Kevin Dwayne Powell’s conviction is the first of several it will make this year clarifying exactly what the long-established Miranda rights require police to do.Powell was convicted of illegally possessing a firearm after telling police he bought the weapon “off the street” for $150 for his protection. Before his confession, Powell signed a Miranda statement that included the words, …Read more […..]

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Pa. cop fought for her life before shooting suspect

PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh police Officer Janine Triolo was in a fight for her life.She had one handcuff on Ryan Davis, 20, of Lawrenceville, the suspect in an armed robbery on Denniston Street in Shadyside, when Davis began to resist at about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, officers told the Tribune-Review. Davis beat the officer’s face and shoved a Ruger double-action pistol into her armpit and pulled the trigger.The gun jammed.When Davis reached for Triolo’s gun, the officer unholstered it first and fired. Davis, who was 6 feet, 1 inch tall and weighed about 200 pounds, died at the scene of a gunshot wound in the chest, the Allegheny …Read more […..]

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Calif. officers get new rules for chasing armed offenders

LOS ANGELES — After criticism for a string of deadly shootings by deputies, the nation’s largest sheriff’s department told officers Wednesday to think twice before chasing and trying to arrest suspects who are believed to be armed.The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department issued new guidelines telling deputies it’s often better to contain someone considered armed and dangerous then wait for backup officers to arrive before taking them into custody.The shift in strategy came after a year in which deputies killed 16 suspects, up from nine in 2008.”We can do better,” Sheriff Lee Baca said. “That’s what this policy intends …Read more […..]

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Ga. cop ambushed, killed with high powered weapon

First Atlanta-area officer to be killed since 2008CHATTAHOOCHEE HILLS, Ga. — People come to Chattahoochee Hills to escape the urban encroachment and anger.Yet on Monday, even this idyllic countryside setting southwest of Atlanta couldn’t provide a safe haven for one of its own peace-keepers. After traveling down a dirt road shortly after noon, police Lt. Mike Vogt was ambushed and fatally shot by someone using a high-powered weapon, turning tranquility into a den of police activity.”We will be turning up the heat and trying to find the perpetrators of this horrific crime,” said Col. Jeff Holmes of the Fulton County Sheriff’s …Read more […..]

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350,000 inquiries for 60 posts at North Yorkshire Police

Wow, demand for Police is very high in England!HIGH unemployment because of the recession is being cited as the main reason for a staggering 350,000 inquiries for 60 posts at a police force. North Yorkshire Police have attracted a record breaking number of calls in only four-and-a-half days this week after placing job advertisements in The Northern Echo and on its own website. The force’s 14-strong recruitment team handled calls from potential bobbies hailing from as far afield as Essex, London, Hertfordshire and Exeter. The demand was so great that senior officers, including Chief Constable Grahame Maxwell, Deputy Chief …Read more […..]

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