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Former Massachusetts police chief charged with taking more than $50G from toy fund privateofficer.com

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Joseph Buffis faces a variety of charges, including extortion by wrongful use of fear and under color of official right, money laundering and wire fraud.

SPRINGFIELD  MA Sept 2 2014- Just one needy child received a Christmas gift from a police department-sponsored toy fund since 2007, according to new charges brought in federal court against former Lee Police Chief Joseph Buffis.
Prosecutors allege Buffis pocketed the rest of more than $52,000 he collected in the name of the charity over five years. A 12-count criminal indictment handed up by a grand jury Thursday afternoon states Buffis deposited money intended for the toy fund into his personal bank accounts and paid off credit card balances.
The new charges include "extortion by wrongful use of fear and under color of official right," a charge reserved for public officials, plus money laundering and wire fraud. He is the only Lee police official implicated in the alleged scheme. The indictment states Buffis had sole control over the bank account for the toy fund.
Buffis, a 30-year veteran fired by town officials in the wake of the scandal, was originally charged with extortion and money-laundering in U.S. District Court last year. Investigators said he fleeced the LaLiberte Toy Fund - established by a late police official to raise money for holiday toys for poor children - of $4,000.
The original charges allege Buffis extorted two innkeepers with the threat of charging them with prostitution-related crimes. It is unclear whether there was any merit to the charges. But, at any rate, prosecutors said Buffis steered the innkeeper's "donation" to his personal bank account.
But, the new indictment alleges Buffis had been using the charity as his personal ATM machine for years. Although donations from the public poured in each holiday season as the fund was publicized in The Berkshire Eagle, investigators said they could identify only one family who received a $250 donation since 2007. The indictment states that Buffis' subordinate officers also donated to the fund.
Prosecutors stopped short of calling Buffis the "Grinch Who Stole Christmas," but the charges state he collected 706 checks from 423 donors and deposited just $145 into the fund in 2010.
Despite what prosecutors say is a clear paper trail to the contrary, Buffis told Massachusetts State Police investigating the matter in 2012 that 100 to 130 needy children received gifts annually. Buffis added that he and other officers would package toys and hand-deliver them, if necessary.
Buffis has denied the charges against him; his arraignment on the new charges has not yet been scheduled.
MLive.com  

Colorado public defenders want children out of restraints in court privateofficer.com

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A 10-year-old boy stands shackled with his mother, left, and his attorney in a Florida court in 2007.Denver CO Sept 2 2014 He tried to hide the tears from his mother.
But the bright orange handcuffs locked his wrists together, and eventually he gave up trying to tug his T-shirt up to his face to wipe them away.
Details about the assault charge the teenager faced are not public — it could have been a hard shove or a violent fistfight — but the boy accused of stealing candy bars from a convenience store was brought into the same Denver courtroom with the same orange handcuffs clasped around his thin wrists. The restraints fastened around his ankles rattled against the chain that stretched between his skater shoes, which barely touched the floor when he sat down.
The scene is one that happens in courtrooms almost every day in Colorado.
In all but three courthouses, juveniles as young as 10 are led into courtrooms wearing restraints that can weigh as much as 25 pounds. Defense attorneys and advocates say the long-term effects of shackling juveniles can be devastating for children still developing their self-worth.
Sheriff's departments — which are in charge of the custody of all offenders and courthouse security — cannot readily recall a recent assault or escape attempt by a juvenile inside a courtroom, but most still say the risks of removing restraints are too great. Judges, who have the ultimate say of whether juveniles wear restraints in their courtroom, have repeatedly deferred to the sheriff's judgment.
"Why the state is allowed to do things to children that parents wouldn't be allowed to do isn't something you could ever explain to a child. Because there is no good explanation for it," said Ann Roan, state training director for juvenile defense for the Office of the State Public Defender.
The Denver Post does not name juveniles charged with a crime.
Wrist, ankle cuffs
In-custody juveniles, ages 10 to 17, appear in courtrooms in restraints that can include wrists and ankle cuffs and in some cases a chain that wraps around their waist. Often the child charged with harassment for pointing a pencil at another student looks no different than the child accused of a violent crime, public defenders say.
Some of the crimes juveniles are accused of are so serious they are not allowed to be released, Roan said. But many children remain in custody because their parents couldn't be reached or refused to come get them, or the judge said their home is not safe for them.
Public defenders and child advocates have been working with judges and law enforcement for several years to change the practice. Since the beginning of the year, three districts — Boulder, Jefferson and La Plata counties — have started unshackling juveniles while they are in the courtrooms.
"When we reviewed it, we realized the juveniles were handcuffed or shackled more often than the adults," said Mark Techmeyer, spokesman for the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office. "They were being held to a different standard."
Law enforcement and public defenders in each of those counties said there have been no problems inside the courtrooms since they started removing the restraints. Some even reported improved behavior.
In those three districts, defense attorneys, prosecutors, judges and sheriff's deputies can determine if an individual juvenile should remain in restraints. They consider whether the child poses an escape risk, is a threat to themselves or others and whether the crime they are accused of is severe enough that they should remain in restraints.
Bill failed in 2013
Of the 9,124 charges filed against juveniles in 2013, about 20 percent were violent or sexual offenses, according to The Post's analysis of state judicial records.
Since 2007, at least six states have implemented statewide policies to keep most juveniles out of restraints, said David Shapiro, manager of the National Juvenile Defender Center's Campaign Against Indiscriminate Shackling of Youth. Several other states and counties have less formal policies, including Los Angeles.
In 2013, a bill that included a provision to remove restraints during court appearances failed in the Colorado House.
Roan says the issue shouldn't have to be solved legislatively when judges can make the change immediately. But in some of the state's busiest juvenile courts, efforts to find a compromise have stalled.
Denver Juvenile Court Presiding Judge D. Brett Woods declined an interview request with The Post, but through a spokesman said he had considered several factors in deciding whether to remove the restraints. He traveled to Jefferson and Arapahoe counties to observe their practices, but ultimately did not change the policy.
"The primary role of any courthouse is to facilitate the court's business," said Steve Steadman, administrator for judicial security for the state.
Steadman has served on a number of task forces in different counties examining the issue. In addition to security, several factors must be considered, including the layout of the courthouse, the time it would take to remove the restraints and the possible additional resources required.
To accommodate the change in Boulder, a full-time deputy and court security officer had to be hired, costing the county about $91,000 a year. No additional staff were required in Jefferson or La Plata counties.
Denver interim Sheriff Elias Diggins said the department cannot afford to hire an additional deputy needed to keep the courtroom safe.
"The restraints are there for their protection," Diggins said. "We want them to stay in custody and not make a snap decision and run out and face additional charges."
There is an average of seven escape attempts from courtrooms — including juveniles and adults — each year in Colorado, Steadman said. But neither Steadman nor Diggins could give an example of a juvenile attempting escape in recent years.
In 2006, juvenile courts in Miami-Dade County in Florida started removing juveniles' restraints during court appearances. Five years later, more than 20,000 juveniles had appeared without restraints and there was only one escape attempt, according to a report by the Florida Public Defender's office.
The policy was later implemented statewide.
Dr. Gwen Wurm, a general and behavioral pediatrician at the University of Miami, worked with public defenders to change the policy. Forcing all juveniles to wear restraints in front of strangers and their families can be traumatic for children who have already been through trauma at home, she said.
"If we put them in a situation where they are basically treated like caged animals, that is how they are going to see themselves," Wurm said. "No good can come of this."
Adding to the trauma to some of the kids' lives can increase the likelihood that children will re-offend.
Steadman says the conversations about juvenile restraints are ongoing, and defense attorneys can still file motions in individual cases. But Roan warns that the effects on children are too severe to wait, and every day the policy is not changed is another day children appear in shackles.
"When you treat a kid like a criminal, they start acting like criminals," Roan said.
Denver Post

Police use pepper spray on ‘Welcome Week’ crowds at Western Michigan University privateofficer.com

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KALAMAZOO, Mich. Sept 2 2014— Police attempting to control crowds of students and party goers in Kalamazoo early Sunday morning deployed pepper spray on a group of about 300-400 people.
The crowds were gathering near West Michigan Ave. and Euclid Ave. during welcome week at Western Michigan University. According to police, they used pepper spray to control the out-of-hand crowds. No injuries have been reported.
FOX 17 found several posts on social media from students claiming police used tear gas on crowds, but police say that was not the case.
Sgt. Matt Schemenauer with Kalamazoo Public Safety said police only chose to deploy the pepper spray after several failed attempts to verbally break up the crowd and some individuals began pelting officers with bottles.
“The crowd was throwing rocks and bottles at officers, two officers were struck, there was also report of damage to a vehicle,” said Sgt. Matt Schemenauer with Kalamazoo Public Safety.
The crowds dispersed relatively quickly after the pepper spray was deployed, according to Shemenauer.
“I don’t know what happened,” said Noah Lancucki who witnessed the ordeal. “We weren’t doing anything wrong, honestly there were a lot of people but I really don’t know what we did wrong.”
KPS brought on an addition 6-8 officers for patrols for ‘Welcome Week’ in anticipation of the larger crowds and parties with students returning back to Western Michigan University’s campus.
“You know it’s not all the students, it’s normally just a few that are acting up and causing problems, but we slowly escalated our response until it unfortunately gets to pepper spray,” Schemenauer said.
Fox17

Oakland Flea Market security officer shoots-kills man privateofficer.com

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OAKLAND, Calif. Sept 2 2014

A shooting death involving a private security officer became Oakland's fiftieth homicide of the year.


Police said that the shooting, involving a security guard at a flea market happened at the Coliseum flea market, at 1 p.m. Sunday.


Police were not talking, but relatives who came to the scene said the dead man was 22-year-old Hector Uribe of Oakland, and that he was shot and killed by a swap meet security guard. 


"They didn't have to kill him, there's no reason for him to be dead right now," his 16-year-old sister Jocelyn Uribe told KTVU, weeping alongside other distraught family members.


Miranda said she heard Uribe was in or near a parked car when he was shot.


Some witnesses suggested the guard interrupted Uribe during an auto break-in.


"A lot of people say, he was only looking," exclaimed Miranda, "he was trying to open his car and this security guard came and shot him, I think it's unfair."


KTVU made repeated inquiries to OPD, but the spokeswoman would only confirm that a death had occurred, not who pulled the trigger or why.


The longtime sale, held alongside Interstate 880 at an old drive-in theatre, runs seven days a week, and attracts thousands of people, especially on busy weekends.


Stolen and counterfeit goods are the most common crime problem, along with occasional robberies. Gunfire is unusual, and the commotion rattled visitors.


As the Alameda County Coroner's van pulled away, it was followed by a tow truck with an older model Infiniti sedan, apparently connected to the shooting.


West Wind Public Markets manages the Coliseum swap meet, but has not answered a KTVU request for comment on the shooting, or its security procedures.


Oakland police say that they are still in the midst of their investigation and could not provide any further details.


Security Guard- Two Dozen Concertgoers Arrested at LA's Made in America Festival privateofficer.com

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Los Angeles CA Sept 2 2014 More than two dozen arrests were made on the first night of the two-day Made in America music festival attended by 34,000 at Grand Park in downtown Los Angeles, police said.
At least 29 people landed in handcuffs Saturday - including a private security guard for the alleged battery of a concertgoer - the Los Angeles Police Department said. Officials said most arrests were drug and alcohol related.
The LAPD and Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department each had several hundred officers and deputies assigned to the festival and there were hundreds of private security personnel on hand as well, said LAPD Lt. Andrew Neiman said.
No major incidents were reported, although six people were taken to the hospital for heat-related ailments, authorities said.
The event was mostly peaceful.
"Here we're all united as one," said one concertgoer. "Music brings us together. We're here to have a good time, nothing else matters."
The concert features three stages and a lineup that includes Kanye West, Afrojack, Imagine Dragons, Kendrick Lamar, John Mayer and Iggy Azaela.

Armed guard arrested for shooting after Lil Wayne concert privateofficer.com

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Michael McCoy, Juan Escobar
 
 
CHARLOTTE, N.C. September 2 2014
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police arrested a security guard after they said he fired shots at a man in a car near the PNC Music Pavilion after a Lil Wayne concert this weekend.

Police said the armed guard, Michael McCoy, confronted Juan Escobar -- who witnesses said was trying to break into a car.

Officers told Channel 9 that McCoy fired two shots after Escobar nearly hit him with a car. They said Escobar drove onto sidewalks packed with people from the concert.

CMPD arrested Escobar as well and charged him with assault and reckless driving.

McCoy was charged because police said he fired the second shot at the car while it was no longer posing an imminent threat.

The incident comes just a little more than a year after someone stabbed a man to death in the parking lot outside the same venue after another Lil Wayne concert.

Police said the victim in that case was defending his girlfriend against a group of male concert-goers.

No arrests were ever made.
WSOCTV

Buffalo NY wrestling coach pleads guilty to rape of teens privateofficer.com

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Buffalo, NY Sept 2 2014 - Justin Farrara, 27, of Hamburg, pleaded guilty to two counts of third-degree rape in Erie County Court in Buffalo Tuesday.
School officials first discovered two inappropriate relationships carried out by Farrara through conversations posted on a social media website earlier this year. When questioned, both juvenile victims reported having sexual contact with Farrara.
The district informed the Eden Police Department, and detectives arrested Farrara. Detectives determined the two rapes were both committed at Farrara's former residence in August of 2012, and again in April of 2014.
Farrara left his position as assistant wrestling coach in Eden in 2012. He was not employed by the school when district officials first learned of the rapes.
Farrara was released on his own recognizance following his guilty plea Tuesday. He will return to Erie County Court on October 23, 2014 for sentencing. Farrara faces a maximum sentence of eight years in state prison.
WKBW-TV

Border Patrol agent shoots at armed Texas militia member privateofficer.com

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Texas Border Patrol agents
McALLEN, Texas Sept 2 2014 (AP) — A Border Patrol agent pursuing a group of immigrants in a wooded area near the Texas-Mexico border on Friday fired several shots at an armed man who later identified himself as a militia member.
Border Patrol spokesman Omar Zamora said agents had been chasing a group of immigrants east of Brownsville Friday afternoon when an agent saw a man holding a gun near the Rio Grande. The agent fired four shots, but did not hit the man. The man then dropped his gun and identified himself as a member of a militia. Zamora said no other details were immediately available.
Cameron County Sheriff Omar Lucio, whose agency is involved in the investigation, said the incident occurred on private property and it appeared the man had permission to be there. He was not arrested, Lucio said.
The man, whose name has not been released, was wearing camouflage and carrying a long arm that was either a rifle or shotgun, Lucio said. The agent had lost the group of immigrants when he turned around and saw the man holding the weapon.
An unknown number of militia members have come to the Texas border following a surge in illegal immigration this summer.
But Lucio said, "We really don't need the militia here." He recognized they have the right to carry weapons, but noted that with the Border Patrol, Texas Department of Public Safety and local law enforcement, there are enough agencies working to secure the border. Gov. Rick Perry also called as many as 1,000 National Guard members to the border.
"It just creates a problem from my point of view, because we don't know who they are," Lucio said.
This month, the Border Patrol warned its agents about militia members after seven of them dressed in camouflage and carrying rifles appeared out of the dark and began helping to apprehend immigrants around a canal near Mission. The agents initially mistook them for a Department of Public Safety tactical team.

"AK-47 Bandit" Suspected in bank robberies nationwide privateofficer.com

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Omaha NE Sept 2 2014 Authorities say a man who used an assault rifle to rob a bank in Nebraska earlier this month matches the description of a prolific bank robber responsible for a slew of heists across the western U.S.

The FBI says the Aug. 22 robbery of the First National Bank branch in southeast Nebraska may be the work of the so-called "AK-47 Bandit," who is suspected of shooting a Chino police officer during a heist in February 2012.

The bandit went on to hit up banks in Northern California, Idaho and Washington. He was dubbed the "AK-47 Bandit" because of his penchant for carrying the assault rifle into his targeted banks.
Investigators said he has told victims that he used to be an officer, and surveillance video shows him usually wearing tactical gear, a full-face ski mask and blue ballistic vest or green mesh vest marked "Sheriff."
The aggressive robber has been known to point the rifle at crying children.
Police came close to catching him in Chino, but he got away after shooting the officer, who was seriously hurt.
Chino police detectives have flown out to Nebraska to help in the investigation.
"We want to make everyone aware of how violent this man is," said Chino Police Det. Carlos Dominguez. "He is not afraid to pull the trigger, he has already shot a police officer. So anyone that gives him any resistance, he's not afraid to act."
After robbing the California Bank & Trust in Chino in 2012, the man is believed to have robbed a Vacaville Bank of the West on March 12, 2012. He may have also tried to rob a bank in Sacramento a few days earlier.
The “AK-47 Bandit” is described as a white male, 25 to 40 years old, about 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighing between 180 and 200 pounds.

5 Bald Head Island Public Safety Officers Fired, 3 More Disciplined privateofficer.com

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BALD HEAD ISLAND, N.C. Sept 3 2014 -- Three officers with the Bald Head Island Public Safety Department have been disciplined as part of an investigation that led to the firing of five officers.The village didn't name the officers but says they are on a 90-day probation. Another officer involved in the incident resigned to take another position. It was announced Thursday that Donald Koons, Herbert Bryant, Jesse Conner and Lts. Nic Terrell and Thomas Cannon were fired for violations of internal policies. Koons, Bryant and Terrell are accused of harassment, sexual harassment and other violations.Cannon was let go for inappropriate communications and harassment and Conner for inappropriate communications.Connor is also accused of violating a training agreement and must pay Bald Head Island $2,300.
TWC News

Security officers settle into Hillsboro schools privateofficer.com

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The 411 students adjusting to all the chaos of a new school year at Ballast Point Elementary have something new to wrap their heads around this year.
He’s Quentinlee Morgan, an armed officer in uniform who doesn’t exactly blend in as he makes his way down a hall and out to the playground.
The students, generally 5 to 10, react in different ways. Some keep their distance. Some are in awe, as though in the presence of a celebrity. Others are quizzical.
“Is that a Taser?” one boy asks, pointing to Morgan’s gun. The officer replies patiently, “No, it is not.”
“That’s cool,” another student says.
Morgan, 26, is not a police officer, but he looks like one. He dresses in full uniform and has a 40-caliber semi-automatic handgun clipped to his belt along with two radios — one to keep in touch with school staff and another that connects him to local law enforcement agencies.
He is one of 20 new mobile community school officers the Hillsborough County school district hired during the summer to patrol elementary schools in the first phase of a $4.5 million four-year plan to place an officer at each county elementary full time.
Morgan’s beat is six elementary school campuses in the South Tampa area. His list of duties is long and includes making sure exterior gates and doors are locked, guarding against trespassers, resolving conflicts, conducting drills, training staff in emergency procedures and interacting with students during lunch periods.
He is expected to build relationships with the school community and teach students about crime prevention, pedestrian safety and bullying.
“We’re not looking for the next mass shooting,” Morgan said. “We’re not trying to take kids to jail. We’re child advocates.”
By 2016, district officials hope to have an officer, either employed by the district or local law enforcement agencies, in every single elementary school.
Before this school year, 19 of Hillsborough’s 145 elementary schools already had their own district-employed community school officer. Ten got a Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office deputy last school year through a federal grant. Each middle and high school has its own deputy or Tampa police officer.
After the shooting massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, in 2012, the district stationed officers at elementary schools for the rest of the school year.
Principals told the school board they feel safer with a guard patrolling their schools, and a plan was hatched to place an officer on every district campus within four years.
In a 4-3 decision, the school board approved $815,000 for the first phase late last year.
Two weeks into the new school year, the new officers are getting settled into their roles, district security chief John Newman said.
“We have them rotating to the sites, seeing principals,” Newman said. “They’re finding their way with their administrators, and their administrators are finding their way with them.”
The plan has its critics. The head of the local chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, Michael Pheneger, said he’s worried it will mean more student arrests.
School board members April Griffin, Cindy Stuart and Susan Valdes voted against the first phase, citing the cost as a major concern.
If the remaining funding is approved in each of the next three years, 38 more officers would be hired next year, 40 would be added in the third year, and every school would have its own officer in the fourth year.
Eight months after the first phase got the board’s stamp of approval, Valdes sees the value of having an officer in every elementary school but remains apprehensive. She wants to hear a report on the first phase before deciding whether to support future ones.
“I think we have a very safe community for the most part,” said Valdes, who opposed the measure because she thought the money could be better spent elsewhere — like on strengthening the district’s beleaguered transportation department.
“I don’t anticipate — knock on wood — that we would have a situation like Sandy Hook.”
Even so, Valdes said, the officers could help shape a positive image of law enforcement for the district’s youngest students.
“The police aren’t always bad,” she said. “That’s a really exciting opportunity to be able to ensure the kids know that law enforcement is there to protect and serve.”
Unlike sworn law enforcement officers, the community school officers hired through the school district’s in-house security department can handcuff and detain but cannot make arrests. Their training isn’t as robust, and the population they deal with is smaller and more predictable.
“In law enforcement, the customer changes all the time,” Newman said. “Here, the customers are the folks that come to your campuses. If they don’t embrace you, it’s going to be a long year.”
The similarities: They have the same type of uniforms and carry the same kind of guns.
“The defensive tactics are not nearly as comprehensive for the district-employed officers, Newman said. A sworn law enforcement officer goes through about a year of training, compared with 10 weeks for a school district officer, he said.
Newman, a former assistant Tampa police chief, took over school security in April after the retirement of longtime security chief David Friedberg.
Community school officers are required to have state-issued security and firearm licenses and a high-school diploma or vocational or GED certificate. They must have at least two years of previous experience in security, or one year if they’ve been to college.
The officers go through a psychological evaluation, firearm training and a physical assessment course.
They attended workshops over the summer, some in conjunction with Tampa police, that covered everything from how to handle an active shooter to dealing with students with special needs. They learned how the alarm systems at their schools work. Also covered were civil citations and laws on trespassing and burglary.
Newman said the district received hundreds of applications for the positions, but many were from people who weren’t qualified. The 20 who were hired were chosen from a group of about 50 who qualified.
Their pay averages about $34,000 a year.
Many of the officers have years of experience in law enforcement or the military. Morgan served in the Army for eight years and did tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. Another officer is a retired Tampa policeman who was a school resource officer.
“You’re not getting a ragtag security guard,” Morgan said. “You’re not getting the guy who worked mall security.”
Ballast Point Elementary is nestled in the Ballast Point neighborhood just west of waterfront Ballast Point Park. It is a quiet, safe part of town.
Even schools like this, where crime and violence are rare, benefit from an officer on campus, Newman said. He wants the principals to put the officers to work. They can make safety presentations to classes, counsel a student who’s having a hard time and make home visits to consult with families if a student is having trouble at school.
“Once they realize that person is there as a resource, they’re going to find things for them to do they never realized they could,” Newman said.
Principal Debra Fitzpatrick appreciates having Morgan on campus, saying, “Just a presence of a uniform makes parents feel more secure.”
Aside from Ballast Point, Morgan is responsible for keeping five other elementary schools safe: Lanier, Anderson, Chiaramonte, Roosevelt and West Shore.
Each officer’s cluster of schools is arranged to ensure there is only a five-minute response time from one school to another. This year, every elementary is in a cluster. The district soon will supply each of the new officers a car so they can spend time at several schools each day. Until then, Morgan and the others are spending each day at a different school, getting to know the students, parents and staff.
On Thursday, while patrolling the Ballast Point campus, Morgan walked onto the playground to gasps from a few second-graders. Their teacher, Elba Matthies, said they are still getting accustomed to having him around. For her, his presence is comforting.
“It’s just lovely,” Matthies said. “These days an awful lot of things happen in elementary, middle and high school.”

9,000 rape kits untested across Tennessee privateofficer.com

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Nashville TN Sept 3 2014 More than 9,000 rape kits have gone untested across Tennessee, some dating back nearly 30 years.
That's according to a report released Tuesday by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation in response to a law passed earlier this year requiring all police agencies to account for all untested rape kits. Rape kit backlogs have exploded as a national problem over the past year. Thousands of evidence kits have gone untested across the country, raising serious questions about how seriously police are taking the issue of rape. Memphis stood out as one of the most egregious examples, with an estimated 12,000 untested rape kits.
While Memphis appears to have whittled that backlog down to just under 7,000 untested kits, there still remain 2,120 rape kits across the state that were never tested. Some of the kits go back to 1985.
"I'm disappointed if there's one rape kit that's not tested," said Tennessee Rep. Antonio Parkinson, D-Memphis, who has made rape kits a priority. "But my initial thoughts are any improvement is good for everyone."
The discovery of Memphis' rape kit problem led to several efforts to fund backlog reduction efforts. Instead, the Tennessee Legislature ordered every agency in the state to inventory their rape kits to determine the scope of the problem.
Initial estimates at the time were that some 20,000 rape kits may have gone untested over the years. But those estimates, as shown by Tuesday's report, may have proven overly pessimistic.
Despite its gains, Memphis police had far more untested rape kits than any other agency in the state. The Knoxville Police Department had the second-highest total, with 394. Nashville, which had acknowledged it had about 338 rape kits that went untested due to victim recantations or refusal to prosecute, has gotten that number down to 200, according to the report, making it the fourth highest.
The earliest Nashville kit was collected in 1996. Details about specific cases were not included in the report, and Metro police officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
Perhaps most surprising in the report is that third-highest number of untested rape kits came from Jackson Police, which reported 249.
Parkinson said that the work to test all rape kits is only beginning.
"We can't stop here," he said. "We've got to keep the pressure on and keep reducing these."
Tennessean

Monroe J.C. Penney employee accused of theft privateofficer.com

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Monroe LA Sept 3 2014
A J.C. Penney employee has been charged with stealing from the company.
On Wednesday, Monroe police arrested Sarah Robinson, 23, of 112 Salem Drive, Monroe, and charged her with one count of felony theft.
Officers said the loss prevention manager for the district told them Robinson stole items from the store in Pecanland Mall totaling more than $600. The items reportedly were stolen on three separate days in early August.
Robinson reportedly told officers she scanned several items for an unknown customer but deleted them from the register before giving them to the customer.
Bond was set at $5,000.
thenewsstar.com

Two women arrested for $3000 theft from Walmart in Niceville privateofficer.com

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Christie Lena Chapman and Tracy Lynn Davis
NICEVILLE FL Sept 3 2014 - Two women are charged with shoplifting more than $3,000 in merchandise from Walmart in Niceville last week.

Christie Lena Chapman and Tracy Lynn Davis are charged with grand theft of more than $300 but less than $5,000.

Davis is also charged with resisting in the recovery of items and resisting an officer without violence.

Chapman, a former dispatcher with the Niceville Police Department, was “released back in May,” according to Police Chief David Popwell.

Chapman and Davis went into Walmart on Aug. 22 around 7:35 p.m., according to the arrest reports from Niceville Police Department.

The two women walked around the store for an hour and 35 minutes, “continuously” putting merchandise into “back-pack style bags,” as well as into “rubber containers, obtained from Walmart,” the reports said.

As the women tried to leave the store, the Loss Prevention Manager attempted to stop Davis and recover the merchandise. She resisted him, as well as officers, who had to force her to the ground to restrain her, the report said.

The value of the stolen and recovered property totaled $3,483.57.

The women are each scheduled to be in court on Oct. 7.
nwfdailynews.com

Daytona Beach bar fight leaves 1 man dead privateofficer.com

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Sept 3 2014 
As police try to piece together exactly what happened outside One Horse Saloon Bar in Daytona Beach early Sunday morning, Mariah Richards told Local 6 she was there shortly before that fight began.
"I don't know why the fight started or how, because no one was behind that corner, it's as simple as that," Richards said. "All I know is that he was acting crazy in the bars and James O'brien tried to walk him out."
According to eyewitnesses, the victim, 34-year-old Lance J. Rewis, had been causing problems with people at the bar all night.
Richards said Rewis kept touching her, so O'brien, an unofficial bouncer, came to her rescue.
"The guy grabbed my arm again and that's when (O'brien) got stern with the guy and said, 'Dude, stop touching her.'"
After O'brien walked Rewis out of the bar, the two got into a fight and that's when police said Rewis pulled out a knife.
"I didn't see a knife, I didn't see anything. I just know he had his fist behind his back."
A short time later, Rewis was found with facial injuries and unconscious in some bushes nearby. He was taken to Halifax Hospital and later died.
"(O'brien) had a cut on his hand and he had bloody knuckles," said Richards.
Richards said O'brien's knuckles were evidence of a struggle that she believes had to be self-defense.
"I've never seen him get violent, even with people he didn't like," Richards said.
O'brien was arrested but has not been charged in Rewis' death.
Police said an autopsy will be performed on Tuesday, which will give them the manner and cause of death.
clickorlando.com

Big Sky teacher, coach arrested and charged with 2 counts of rape privateofficer.com

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BOZEMAN MT Sept 3 2014 - A coach with the Big Sky School District has been arrested and charged with two counts of sexual intercourse without consent.
Cyle Kokot, a teacher and coach at Big Sky was arrested and detained by the Gallatin County Sheriff's Office.
School officials have no comment at this time, but say they are working in cooperation with the sheriff's office as the investigation continues and the issue is being addressed with all the District and Board resources.
School officials said in a news release that counselors and administrators will be available to meet with teachers, students and parents as needed.
The counselors will be available at Big Sky School District locations from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday Sept. 3 - Sept. 5. The Big Sky School District Superintendent, Mr. Jerry House, may be contacted at any time on 406 995-4281.
"It is incomprehensible to us as a school and community that this alleged behavior could occur,"
said House. "Please be assured that our staff and teachers are preparing for school opening as scheduled."
kpax.com

Suspect sprays Nashville Walmart employees with mace, flees with cash privateofficer.com

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. Sept 3 2014           
Metro police are searching for the person responsible for spraying two Walmart employees with mace before fleeing with an unknown amount of cash.
It happened at the retailer located at 1220 Gallatin Avenue just after 11 p.m. Monday as the two employees were pulling and replacing cash drawers at the express lanes.
The unidentified suspect, who was wearing a hood over his head, sunglasses and a bandanna over his face, approached the employees and quickly sprayed them with mace, grabbing the cash.
The two employees were treated on the scene by paramedics.
Anyone with information on the crime is urged to call Crime Stoppers at 615-74-CRIME.
WKRN

Man killed, officer wounded in shooting at Greenville Law Enforcement Center privateofficer.com

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LEC Shooting



GREENVILLE, S.C. Sept 3 2014 —One man died and a police officer was shot after a shooting Monday night at the Greenville County Law Enforcement Center, according to police.
Interim Chief Mike Gambrell said a man armed with a shotgun fired at an officer and struck him three times before turning the gun on himself.
Tuesday morning, Coroner Parks Evans identified the man who shot himself as 23-year-old Evan Casey Bennett.
Gambrell said the officer was seriously injured with wounds that required surgery overnight. He was shot three times, according to Gambrell, twice in the side, and once in the forearm, hand area.
“First thing I want to do is encourage everybody to pray for our officers because we have an officer in surgery at the hospital," Gambrell said. "I encourage our citizens to pray for his well-being. Our hearts go out to him."
Police said the injured officer has been with the department for five years.
Gambrell said Bennett is connected to a homicide that happened around 9:30 p.m. Monday on Augusta Court.
The coroner identified the victim in that homicide as 58-year-old Gregory Thomas Jones.  The address of the homicide is the same address given as the residence of both Jones and Bennett.
Investigators said the homicide appeared to be domestic-related, but the nature of the relationship between Jones and Bennett has not yet been released.
Gambrell said that at about 10:20 p.m., a man, later identified as Bennett, went to the front door of the LEC and tried to enter. After discovering that the entrance was locked, Gambrell said Bennett fired multiple times at the front of the LEC, shattering the glass.
The officers at the front desk were not injured, but immediately called for backup, Gambrell said.
A police officer pulled up as Bennett was leaving the front area of the LEC and commanded him to put down his weapon, Gambrell said.
Instead, Bennett fired at the officer and then shot himself, Gambrell said. According to investigators, the man was also armed with a 9 mm handgun.
"The officer fired one round back, and of course the officer was hit during that, and then it looks like the suspect suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound," Gambrell said.
SLED has been called in to investigate because the shooting involved an officer, Gambrell said.






 

Oklahoma man charged in theft of televisions from Walmart privateofficer.com

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David Ray Bowman. [Tulsa County Jail]
GLENPOOL, Oklahoma  Sept 3 2014 - Police arrested a man they say tried to steal two televisions from a Glenpool Walmart on Labor Day.
David Ray Bowman, 35, is being held on complaint of grand larceny, eluding police and endangering others and resisting arrest.
Officers said they responded to a call around 11:35 a.m. Monday to the Walmart at 12200 South Waco in Glenpool after store security said a man attempted to steal two televisions and wires from the store.
According to the security guard, the man loaded the items into a shopping cart and left the store without paying. The report says that when security approached the man in the parking lot he ran north towards 121 Street, leaving the items behind.
Officers said they checked surveillance video then walked toward 121st Street and found a man matching the suspect's description sitting in a ditch near the American Heritage bank.
When the officers told the man to show his hands, the report says, the man ran across 121st Street causing multiple vehicles to slam on their brakes while officers chased him.
Reports say after running through a wooded area officers were able to catch up to Bowman and place him under arrest.
According to jail records Bowman is being held on a $11,500 bond.
newson6.com

More than 30 teens escape from Nashville detention center privateofficer.com

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. Sept 3 2014 — More than 30 teens escaped from a Nashville youth detention center and 17 were still being sought early today, a spokesman said.
Thirty-two teens — ages 14 to 19 — escaped from Woodland Hills Youth Development Center about 11 p.m. Monday by crawling under a weak spot in a fence that surrounded a yard there, Tennessee Department of Children's Services spokesman Rob Johnson said.

Two teens were recaptured right away and others were found overnight, Johnson said. Local police and the Tennessee Highway Patrol are taking part in the search for the teens still at large.
The teens being kept at the detention center have committed at least three felonies, Johnson said.
The escape happened when a large group of teens at the center went out into the yard all at once shortly after a shift change, Johnson said. He said he didn't know if the escape was planned or spontaneous. A total of 78 teens were being held at the center at the time, Johnson said.
Johnson said the detention center was calm and back under control Tuesday morning.

 



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