This year, nationwide, 15 officers have been killed by gunfire (out of 30 total line-of-duty deaths). This puts us on pace to expect 105 officers to be shot and killed in 2011. Compare this with 59 firearms deaths in 2010, 47 in 2009, 40 in 2008, and 66 in 2007. Is this a trend? It’s…
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There’s a wake for Poughkeepsie Officer John Falcone today. The 18-year-veteran was killed last Friday. Lee Welch, 27, and his wife, Jessica Welch, 28, both of Catskill, have three children together and a history of domestic violence, Knapp said. They were in Poughkeepsie to exchange a vehicle when the shooting occurred. Falcone was a block-and-a-half…
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Seattle Timescolumnist Danny Westneat has a worrisome article in the paper: “You are paid to use your discretion and there are many ways to do police work. Recent events should show us that many in the city really don’t want aggressive officers who generate on-view incidents. They want officers who avoid controversy and simply respond…
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In response, lawmakers in Mexico have called for the banning of… a video game. Meanwhile, the NRA kills a law aimed at limiting gun running to Mexico. If the rising death toll was a sign in 2009 that drug gangs were weakening, what does the rising death toll say about how weak the drug gangs…
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…except when they do. Patricia Marilyn Spottedcrow, who is serving 10 years in prison, has been taken away from her four young children and husband, and has ended her work in nursing homes because of $31 in marijuana sales. On Dec. 31, 2009, Spottedcrow and her mother, Delita Starr, 50, sold a “dime bag” of…
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Using the Baltimore Sun’sfun interactive homicide chart, these are the sad and politically incorrect totals for 2010: 223 homicides: 202 black (91%), 13 white, 5 Hispanic, 1 Asian, 2 unknown(?). Overall, the 2009 population of Baltimore is estimated to be 63% African American and 33% white. So roughly, the black homicide rate (50) is eight…
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So say the Chicago ministers. Generally, such a move would a good idea. You certainly wouldn’t want to move the cops to lower-crime district. But if this happens, don’t be surprised next year when more blacks are arrested and more tickets are given to blacks. For what’s it’s worth, one Rev. Marshall Hatch of New…
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The usual. State and federal tax cuts. Local budget cuts. Union workers get screwed. The full story is here. Because of the city’s ongoing budget woes, no police academy classes are scheduled for next year, which means that instead of the 1,861 sworn officers who were working for the department in July 2010, retirements and…
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I got this over the transom: A police “accreditation manager” (whatever that means) is revising his “social networking policy” so that potential applicants, as part of their background investigation, must sign an affidavit listing any social networking sites (Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, LinkedIn) they belong to and give their passwords to these sites so the department…
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Maybe you want the government to crack down on immigrants. And maybe you don’t like Big Government all messing in your personal business. Well you probably can’t have it both ways. Because in the name of cracking down on criminal immigrants, well, the Feds are getting a bit more involved in local law enforcement: “By…
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