Friendly-fire suspected to have caused death of Officer Colson

MoonHowler

Washingtonpost.com:

Michael Ford is only 22, but he recorded his last will and testament in a cellphone video and then headed to the Landover, Md., police station on a quiet Sunday afternoon to die, police said.

Ford fired randomly at an ambulance, other vehicles and the doors of the station, pinning down officers who poured from the station to confront him, police said. Two of his brothers stood nearby recording the ambush with cellphones as it unfolded moment by agonizing moment.

Amid that barrage, an off-duty detective, Jacai Colson, arrived to visit another officer. Colson sprang from an unmarked police car and “heroically” drew Ford’s fire as he exchanged shots with the gunman, the police chief said.

The move allowed officers to overcome Ford, but in a chaotic moment, a shot probably fired by one of Colson’s fellow officers struck him and ultimately took his life.

Colson, an undercover narcotics detective, was in street clothes. It is unclear whether the officer who shot Colson confused him with an assailant or whether Colson was wounded accidentally amid the chaotic gunfire, Prince George’s County Police Chief Henry Stawinski III said.

This tragic story just keeps getting worse and worse.  It certainly disproves that all that is needed is a ‘good guy with a gun.”  In our past two cop killings, the good guys, the cops, did have guns.  Still, 2 are dead.

What makes this story bizarre, is that two of Michael Ford’s brothers stood nearby and recorded the action.  That is totally sick.  What is wrong with people?  I hope all three spend life in prison.  It is as though the brothers pulled the trigger also.  Legally, it appears that PG County has a real mess on its hands.

This young officer wasn’t yet 30 years old.  He had his entire life ahead of him.  It was stolen from him in an instant while some toadie tried a game of cops and robbers along with his brothers.  There needs to be a special Hell….

Yes, Blue Lives Matter

[update 10:51 am]

Prince George’s County police officer ambushed and killed

MoonHowler

Washingtonpost.com:

A Prince George’s County police officer was killed Sunday in a fierce shootout with a man outside a district station in Landover, in what the police chief said was an unprovoked attack.

Police Chief Henry P. Stawinski III said a man walked up to the District III station and opened fire outside the front doors about 4:30 p.m. Officers rushed out to stop the attack. Officer Jacai Colson, 28, a four-year department veteran, was killed in the gunfight, the chief said. Police said the suspect was wounded and taken to a hospital, where he was listed in stable condition.

Police said they didn’t know of a motive, but the suspect and a man police officials described as his brother were both in custody.

“One of your defenders lost his life in defense of this community today. This was an unprovoked attack,” Stawinski said at a somber news conference Sunday night.

Officer Colson is the second law enforcement officer killed in the metro area in three weeks.  In this case, it appears that two brothers ambushed one of the PGC police stations.  Officer Colson was killed in the ambush.  One of the suspects was apprehended at a Popeye’s restaurant, in the bathroom,texting his brother.

Read More

2 area sheriff deputies targeted, shot, killed

MoonHowler

map

Washingtonpost.com:

Two Harford County sheriff’s deputies were killed in Maryland on Wednesday by an armed man who entered a Panera Bread restaurant at lunchtime.

The gunman was fatally shot by authorities after he shot the two deputies.

Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler announced the deaths of two members of his department Wednesday afternoon.

“They’re both two outstanding deputies who served the citizens of this county for 16 and 30 years respectively,” Gahler said.

He did not identify the deputies because he said their extended families had not been notified.

Read More

Dancing R.I. Cop draws heat

MoonHowler


msn.com:

EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. — More than two dozen protesters attended a scheduled appearance of a retired Providence police officer known as the “Dancing Cop,” but the ex-officer himself did not show.

Tony Lepore has been drawing heat after he protested outside a Providence coffee shop because an employee wrote “#blacklivesmatter” on an officer’s cup. Lepore asked that the employee be fired.

In response, Providence officials let him go from his decades-long gig directing holiday traffic with exaggerated dance moves.

Lepore says he has since been hired to direct traffic in neighboring East Providence. He says he did not attend a Christmas celebration there on Sunday after the mayor told him about the planned protests.

The above might be the dumbest story I have ever read, on all levels.

Why would someone write #blacklivesmatter on a coffee cup of a patron?   Can you imagine that happening at Starbucks?  I can’t.  I am not sure I would demand that someone lose their job but I might report the incident to the owner or manager.

Why would the city get involved?  Why would the guy be fired?  These folks all have too much time on their hands to be doing all this political stuff while at work.

Does anyone want to make a prediction about how long BLM will be relevant?  The more they bully, the less credibility they will have, would be MY prediction.

 

 

How about those first responders!

MoonHowler

First responders and residents recover amid the aftermath of a deadly tornado in Moore, Okla. timephotographers

(Kenneth M. Ruggiano for TIME)

How about those first responders! “First Responder” has become the buzz word of the millennium. What we really mean are those brave souls who are first on the scene of any disaster, large or small. Those are the people who rush into burning buildings, who scrape us up off the highway or who dodge bullets running into schools when a another mad-man decides to go out in a blaze of glory, mowing down as many innocents in cold blood as possible.

Those are the folks who travel great distances to places like Boston or Moore, Oklahoma just because they are needed and have skills that might be needed in a time of crisis. Those are the folks you see pouring through the 17 miles of rubble that the residents of suburban Oklahoma City used to call home. Those are the folks who gaze  on the most horrific scenes in the aftermath of fires, tornadoes, earthquakes, shootings, and terrorism.

Read More

Father and friend report social services unresponsive

MoonHowler

The dreadful story of the neglected children in Bristow continues.  Interviews with the father of the first set of neglected kids reveal even more information.  Apparently the mother, Christina Dawn Moore, does have visitation with the twins who were found wandering in diapers at a junk yard  when they were toddlers.  Their father is Daniel Tinchard who now has custody of his children.  He reported that he has made several calls regarding abuse and neglect,

According to News and Messenger:

In the past few years, Tincher estimates he made three or four complaints to Social Services – including one alleging physical abuse – regarding his twin boys. The boys live with their father in Bealeton but go to Moore’s house on selected weekends due to a visitation agreement.

A friend of the family has also made numerous complaints. 

The family friend, who attended Brentsville High School with Moore in the early 2000s, said she made close to 10 calls from 2007 to 2010 to the Prince William and Fauquier Social Services departments regarding the situation. She said she heard nothing from anyone other than a brief phone conversation with a social worker.

Read More

Public Servants Solve Decade-long East Coast Rapist Case

MoonHowler

The Prince William County Police along with police from other jurisdictions solved the East Coast Rapist case  last week which had been an open case since 1997.  The alleged rapist is originally from Berryville, VA, where his mother still lives.  He raped women in Virginia, Maryland, Connecticut and Rhode Island before being apprehended.  His latest victims were 3 Dale City teens who were walking home after trick or treating over in Dale City in 2009. 

A police effort recently put up a series of roadway graphics along the interstates on the east coast in hopes on finding this criminal.   Thousands of tips came in and one paid off.  Aaron Thomas, 39  was arrested late last week.  PWC police connected the dots that he was probably a truck driver.  They also cashed in on capturing his DNA from a carelessly discarded cigarette while he was appearing in court over something unrelated. 

Read More

Police employee dies in the line of duty

MoonHowler

The horrible traffic snarl last Friday afternoon in the Sudley/Sudley Manor Drive area claimed a victim.  Sadly, Prince William County employee Donald Reid suffered a heart attack while delivering water and supplies to those officers handling the gas explosion.  He died at Prince William Hospital later that night. 

According to the News & Messenger:

MANASSAS, Va.—A Prince William County police department employee died in the line of duty Friday.“The professional and personal contributions made by Don to the lives of Police Department members will not be forgotten,” Prince William County police Chief Charlie T. Deane said in a press release. “The Prince William County Police Department will truly miss Don Reid.”
Donald E. Reid, the police department’s supply section manger, died of an apparent heart attack while responding to a gas leak in the Manassas area Friday, police officials said Monday.

He would have turned 60 Saturday.

Friday afternoon, police officers responded to the intersection of Sudley Road and Sudley Manor Drive to direct traffic around a large gas leak, which closed roads in the area for hours.

At about 7 p.m., Reid was delivering water and other supplies to those officers, when he pulled his car over to the side of the road, in “apparent medical distress,” police said.

A Virginia State trooper saw the stopped car, checked on Reid and called an ambulance.

Reid was taken to Prince William Hospital, where he died later Friday night.

Reid began working with the Prince William County police department as a Property and Evidence Clerk in March 2000. Officials said Reid was “commended on multiple occasions for his professionalism and dedication to duty” during his career in the county.

Before working as a civilian employee in the Prince William department, Reid was a police officer in the Village of Tuckahoe in Westchester County, New York. He retired after 21 years as a sworn police officer.

Before he was a police officer, Reid served in the 101st Airborne Division of the United States Army and was awarded the Purple Heart after serving in the Vietnam War.

He would have turned 60 Saturday.


 Our  thoughts and prayers go out to his friends, colleagues, and family.  His passing is a loss to our community.

At about 7 p.m., Reid was delivering water and other supplies to those officers, when he pulled his car over to the side of the road, in “apparent medical distress,” police said.

A Virginia State trooper saw the stopped car, checked on Reid and called an ambulance.

Reid was taken to Prince William Hospital, where he died later Friday night.

Reid began working with the Prince William County police department as a Property and Evidence Clerk in March 2000. Officials said Reid was “commended on multiple occasions for his professionalism and dedication to duty” during his career in the county.

Before working as a civilian employee in the Prince William department, Reid was a police officer in the Village of Tuckahoe in Westchester County, New York. He retired after 21 years as a sworn police officer.

Before he was a police officer, Reid served in the 101st Airborne Division of the United States Army and was awarded the Purple Heart after serving in the Vietnam War.

 

Manor Drive to direct traffic around a large gas leak, which closed roads in the area for hours.Sudley Road and SudleyFriday afternoon, police officers responded to the intersection of

Arizona Governor Signs Immigration Status Law

MoonHowler

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed a controversial law into effect today which requires police officers to inquire into a person’s immigration status.

According to MSNBC:

The legislation, sent to the Republican governor by the GOP-led Legislature, makes it a crime under state law to be in the country illegally. It also requires local police officers to question people about their immigration status if there is reason to suspect they are illegal immigrants, allows lawsuits against government agencies that hinder enforcement of immigration laws, and make it illegal to hire illegal immigrants for day labor or knowingly transport them

.

President Obama has taken strong issue with the law which is the toughest immigration law in the United States.

How does this law seem to differ from the Resolution signed right here in Prince William County?

Is this the job for local police?

PG County Cops Tape Shows Brutality after Maryland/Duke Game

MoonHowler

Remember our article from the March 3, 2010 melee after the Maryland / Duke game?  Kids went wild, set fire to trash cans and in general celebrated way too much?  Some UMD Students Need to Grow Up showed students too happy over their win over Duke.  Some  footage also discovered what appears to be some serious police brutality on the part of Prince George’s County Police.  At least 2 students had the living hell beaten out of them with night sticks, fists and it appears the one was rammed with the horse. 

I generally don’t  holler brutality.  However, PG County has long had  a reputation from not running with the straight and narrow.  Judging from this video, is sure looks like PG County has a few rotten apples:

 

What do you think?

A Week of Crime in PWC

MoonHowler

This week has been a crime filled one here in Prince William County. We generally do not cover crime on this blog. The newspapers usually handle things adequately. If there is the slightest of chances that the perpetrator might be an illegal immigrant, the dark screen is all over it.

However, in light of the fact that our esteemed chairman of the BOCS has publicly stated that violent crime is down by 20% (even though murder is up and rape is unchanged), and that passing the Resolution helped make this happen, we thought we should illuminate a few cases that indicate Mr. Stewart’s announcement might be somewhat misleading. Earlier this week, the News and Messenger reported the following regarding the 2008 PWC Crime statistics:

Stewart, a Republican, hailed the drop in violent crime as a victory for Prince William’s tough stance against illegal immigration. Since July 2008, county police have been required to determine the immigration status of anyone taken into custody.

Of the 1,802 people arrested last year for murder, rape, robbery, assault, burglary, larceny, or car theft, 63 were in America illegally.

Only five illegal immigrants were charged with violent crimes, though: one with rape and four with aggravated assault.

So how does the county know its tough stance has worked? The arrest numbers for violent acts are small.

“My response is: exactly,” Stewart said.

Illegal immigrants, concerned about being discovered, may have left the county when they heard they could be deported if they committed a crime, he said.

Or, by deporting an illegal convicted of a lesser offense, authorities can prevent a future, more vicious crime, Stewart said.

“If you’re going to get into trouble, Prince William County is the last place you want to be as an illegal immigrant,” he said.

So much for statistics. Mid-week, there was an armored car heist. Three men, wearing black and white Halloween masks held up a Loomis armored car at gun point. The Loomis employees were not injured. Eventually the three were apprehended after a tip from a senior citizen.

As if this wasn’t enough excitement, yesterday an officer attempted to pull over a suspected drunk driver. The driver refused to stop, went on a rampage, and tried to mow her down with his vehicle. The officer was pinned between her car and the door. The driver went on to injure four others near Minnieville and Smoketown Roads. Despite being shot at twice, the suspect got away. He was apprehended today (Friday) around 9 a.m. A civilian pointed out a suspicious looking person riding a bicycle. The police flooded the area and even customers from Lowes got in the act by attempting to grab the suspect or ram his with shopping carts. (which seems rather minor after he attacked one of Prince William’s finest with a vehicle.)

Weapons were drawn again and the young man was apprehended.

According to the News and Messenger:

In addition to attempted capital murder, the teen faces charges of aggravated malicious wounding of a police officer, felony eluding police, felony hit and run and grand larceny auto, police said.

Interestingly enough, none of the perps in either of these cases of violent crime appear to be illegal immigrants. How will that fit in with Mr. Stewart’s statistics?

POLICY FAILING, CONFIDENCE FALLING: analysis of yesterday’s Immigration Resolution Report

Alanna

In Chief Deane’s immigration resolution status report, after six months of madness in the county, the infamous and costly “crackdown on illegal immigration” has netted 626 arrests and summons of undocumented immigrants, 1.6% of all summons and arrests in the county. This 1.6% comes with the price of 11.3 million dollars. And out of 626, only 341 arrests were made and a handful proved to be legal residents mistakenly detained. See Washington Post Article.

The rabid supporters of the “crackdown” will no doubt say that that price tag is worth it to arrest 341 “illegals.” We can argue about the value of that ad nauseum, but there is a very serious logistical problem that is the real story in the report. It’s not reported in Kristen’s article and I’m sure Corey would like to gloss over this, but Marty pounced on it during session.

Corporal Pete Meletis reports that he has no idea what happens to those detainees who are released to ICE. There is no tracking done. Even ICE doesn’t know. The detainees are sent to various detentions centers and no one knows what happens to them. In fact, Pete Meletis said that they have discovered that in examining the results of the 287(g) Program between July 2007 – August 2008, out of 907 detainers released to ICE, 48 were not only back in the county but rearrested. 48 out of 907 were rearrested in the county! Is ICE just turning around and releasing everyone? It sure looks that way to me.

Here is the reality. There is a terrible cycle to detaining and deporting undocumented immigrants and we only have control over one half of that cycle. No matter how much money we spend, how well crafted it is, if we are blind to what is happening to the other half of the cycle, it’s a pointless exercise. We are baking one half of a pie totally blind to how the other half of the pie is being baked. Unless there is divine intervention, we’re going to end up with a really bad pie.

Until the other half of the cycle is fixed and transparent, we are just wasting money, time and resources. We are pouring our money into a bottomless pit. We must face reality, ICE and federal immigration laws have to get fixed, otherwise it is wasteful and counter productive to do anything at the local level.

“Cracking down” at the local level achieved NOTHING to resolve the immigration crisis. It only achieved one thing: create a social climate in which residents are divided and Hispanics and other minorities feel unwelcome. All for the bargain price of 11.3 million dollars that tax payers have to pay in exchange for a weakened economy, an overburdened police force, and a reputation for intolerance.

We have prioritized this useless crackdown over our seniors and children. This is just bad government and it must stop. We just can’t continue down this road.

Unfortunately, the county’s strategic planning task force will be full of politically motivated appointments by John Stirrup and Corey Stewart that includes Robert “foreign invasion” Duecaster and other faces from the county anti-immigrant lobby. There is no end in sight to this policy misguidance. Citizens must step up and regain control of our government, now infiltrated by the nativist hate group.

There is so much more in the report that we must analyze. We’ll continue to analyze and post another thread shortly.

Learn the Rules of the Road?

MoonHowler

My friend just came over with a pretty dreadful story. One of her employees called today to say he would be late for work. Let’s call him Joe, although this is not his real name.

No problem. Joe is one of her most reliable employees. He works 2 jobs and drives an older car. He was coming in to Manassas from the Fair Oaks area and was in the process of getting a ticket for going 7 miles over the speed limit.

As the Fairfax County officer walked away from the car, after giving him the ticket, he uttered the words, “Learn the rules of the road, Spic.”
This employee is Italian! His last name ends in ‘O’

Joe came into work in Manassas late, speechless, and in shock. He said he had never had anything like this happen to him.

Fairfax County needs to do better. This would never happen in Prince William County. Our officers are far more professional than this Fairfax officer. This is, however, what happens when certain groups are so vilified and demonized that people begin to think behavior of this nature is acceptable. This incident appears to have gone beyond racial profiling.

NY Times: The Laws Cops Can’t Enforce

Alanna

This Op-Ed in the NY Times, hits the nail on the head. We owe it to our law enforcement officers to come up with a workable federal immigration policy that does not force police departments to succumb to political pressures to ‘reduce immigration by using racial profiling and harassment’.

Without a national immigration policy, a new culture of lawlessness will increasingly permeate our society. In cities, politicians will pressure police departments to reduce immigration by using racial profiling and harassment. At the same time, immigrants who fear that the police will help deport them will rely less on their local officers and instead give thugs control of their neighborhoods.

Many top law enforcement officials were part of the community policing revolution of the 1980s and ’90s. We have a deep concern for constitutional rights and social justice. We believe that effective policing requires residents, regardless of immigration status, to trust the police.

We are also students of the mistakes of our predecessors. Past police practices helped lead to the civil unrest of the 1960s, which tore our nation apart along racial and political lines. We do not want to repeat those mistakes.

…

America’s police officers deserve thoughtful federal leadership so that we can continue doing our best to provide our country with the security that defines a civilized society.

Violent threats made against Immigrant Advocacy Group

Elena

Haven’t we all heard this before, we are not “real Americans” for daring to say we will not join the mob scene in its fevered hate for Hispanics? How many times have we been called “illegal alien apolotists” ? Does this sound familiar, being called “parasite” who should be “tried for treason”. For those of you believe that violent language will not eventually lead to action, pay close attention. There is an extremist side that is being fueled by ignorance, and at some point, I firmly believe, violence will erupt.

The three telephone calls May 18, however, were more explicitly threatening, CASA officials said.

One was left in a voice mail to Bautista on a Washington number he uses for his work as the Latino missioner of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington. “Don’t be surprised when there’s a [expletive] bullet in the back of your [expletive] brain,” the caller said, according to a recording made available by CASA staffers.

Another call that day was left as a message on CASA’s 800 number. Six of the 19 words were curse words, with the caller saying CASA should not be surprised if somebody blows up one of the group’s facilities.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/02/AR2008060202754.html