DART police officer accidentally shot

A Dallas Area Rapid Transit police officer was accidentally shot on a gun range in southeast Dallas County Tuesday afternoon. According to spokesperson Carmen Castro, the shooting happened at the Kenneth Mitchum Gun Range, where the Dallas County Sheriff's Office has its official training facility. The officer's injury is described as a "minor scrape" and a few other people were scratched by flying debris when the bullet ricocheted. It's not clear if the injured officer was shot by another person or by his or her own weapon

Lucy’s back. Board of Supervisors Questions police action and demands less secrecy.

 Fairfax County police spokes “woman” Lucy Caldwell ..... you remember Lucy…she was the one who threw a fit with a local reporter when the reporter dared to question citizens reaction to yet another murder by the Fairfax County Police……well, Lucy and her hair trigger temper and contempt for a free press  are back on the job as the police information officer.  Here’s the information Lucy gave out to the media concerning this week’s questionable shooting of a Mount Vernon area citizen.

What is the dead man’s name?

I’m not releasing that information

How many cops were at the scene of the shooting? 

I’m not sure.

How many were inside the residence when the shooting occurred?

I’m not sure.

How many shots were fired?

I can’t say.

What is the victim name?

I’m not going to reveal that information.

Members of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors expressed deep concerns of a second questionable shooting of a citizen by the Fairfax County Police in less than a month and over the lack of transparency by the cops in releasing even the most mundane information about the killing.

Naw…the last part didn’t happen.  Pretty much our elected officials are far too intimidated by the police to actually stand up to them.

We’re on our own.  

Police: Harrisburg officer accidentally shot wife

Police: Harrisburg officer accidentally shot wife

HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) -

A Harrisburg police officer accidentally shot his wife in the buttocks, according to police.

Police said the incident happened at around 6 a.m. Saturday in the 1400 block of Wayne Street.

City spokesman Robert Philbin said the officer in question has been suspended without pay pending further investigation by the Dauphin County Criminal Investigation Division.

He said the Bureau of Police will have no further comment on the matter while the investigation is ongoing.

The names of the officer and his wife were not released.

Had enough?  Write to the Speaker of the House, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515 and demand federal hearings into the police problem in America.  Demand mandatory body cameras for cops, one strike rule on abuse, and a permanent  DOJ office on Police Misconduct.

Fairfax County social services agency facing cuts

Fairfax County social services agency facing cuts

By Fredrick Kunkle, Published: May 21, The Washington Post

Some of Fairfax County’s most vulnerable people, and the nonprofit organizations and charities that serve them, fear that a key social services agency’s $8 million budget deficit could jeopardize programs for at-risk children and people with mental illness, intellectual disabilities and substance abuse problems.

….but what really matters is the almost

    $400,000,000

 the police get to underwrite a navy and air force.

Marysville Police Officer Faces Manslaughter Charge

Marysville Police Officer Faces Manslaughter Charge

MARYSVILLE, Wash.  (Metro)  -- A Marysville police officer whose daughter was accidentally shot to death by a sibling faces a charge of second-degree manslaughter.

Snohomish County prosecutors say Officer Derek Carlile created a hazardous situation by leaving his loaded, unsecured handgun within reach of four children.

Seven-year-old Jenna Carlile died on March 10th after her three-year-old brother picked up the .38-caliber revolver and fired it in the family's van in Stanwood.

Highland Park police officer accidentally shot himself.

 HIGHLAND PARK, Mich. -

A Highland Park police officer is in the hospital after he accidentally shot himself.

The accident happened Tuesday near Woodward Avenue and Manchester Street at a trailer behind the police building. According to sources, the officer was working behind the police department when his gun went off, striking him in the leg.

Emergency crews took the officer to Detroit Receiving Hospital. His condition is unknown. Highland Park police have not released the officer’s name.The officer has been with department for five years.

Okla. officer accidentally shot during standoff

MOORE, Okla. (AP) - A Moore police officer was wounded when another officer accidentally shot him as they were about to enter a home where a man had barricaded himself inside.

Officials say a round by a tactical team member's rifle went through Sgt. Michael Leonard's leg on Tuesday. Leonard was taken to a hospital, where he was listed in stable condition. He is expected to recover.

The tactical team surrounded the residence about 3:30 p.m. after the man, who was thought to be suicidal, barricaded himself inside. Once officers made it into the house about 6 p.m., they found the man had shot himself.

The man was taken to a hospital for treatment. His name wasn't released.

Fremont officer's weapon goes off during search

FREMONT -- While searching a house for a local man wanted on a Bowling Green warrant Monday night, a city police officer accidentally fired a bullet into a closet, according to police reports.

Officer Kevin Armbruster reported he saw the 22-year-old Fremont man walking along Lynn Street, near the police station, and called out to him.

The suspect then ran into a home at 508 Lynn St., Armbruster wrote in his report.

The officer called in backup, and officers surrounded the home. Armbruster reported that the suspect was not found inside, and may have jumped out of a window the officers found open when they searched the house.

Police Chief Tim Wiersma said Armbruster discharged a 40-caliber round into a closet during the search.

Wiersma said no one was in the area where the shot was fired and initial investigation of the incident suggests it was accidental.

The chief said a "use of force" review board discussed the incident with Armbruster on Tuesday afternoon. Armbruster also immediately received training on the use of a flashlight mounted on his semi-automatic pistol, Wiersma said.

The chief acknowledged that someone could have been hurt and said the police department is taking the appropriate steps to look into the matter.

"I'm so glad that no one was hurt," Wiersma said.

In addition to the outstanding warrants, a charge of obstructing official business has been filed on the suspect. Police reported Tuesday they have not yet found the suspect.

Britteney Miles, 21-year-old woman accidentally shot in jaw by Agawam Police Officer

AGAWAM - The 21-year-old woman who was accidentally shot by a police officer responding to a reported domestic disturbance at her apartment on May 5 suffered a shattered jaw and faces numerous additional surgeries, her lawyer said.
Springfield lawyer Frank E. Flannery identified the injured woman as Britteney Miles in a press release issued Tuesday. Flannery said he is representing Miles.
The nature of the woman’s injuries make it difficult for her to communicate but she intends to cooperate fully with Hampden District Attorney Mark Mastroianni’s investigation, Flannery said.
Flannery said that Miles intends to issue a statement to the media after the investigation “so that she may address a number of apparent misconceptions about the incident. In the meantime, we ask that members of the press respect the privacy of Ms. Miles and her family.”
Investigators have identified the police officer who accidentally shot Miles while responding to a domestic disturbance at Elizabeth Manor Apartments as Officer Danielle Petrangelo.
Petrangelo is an 11-year-veteran of the force, according to a release issued last Thursday by Agawam police
Petrangelo and Officer Thomas L. Forgues, who also responded to the apartment at 238 Maple St., are both on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the ongoing investigation, according to the release.
The police department release states that Petrangelo and Forgues responded to a call, made shortly before 4:30 a.m., regarding a breaking and entry and possible domestic disturbance. While they were outside the apartment, yelling and glass breaking could be heard from inside the apartment, the release states.
“As police entry was being made, the weapon of Officer Danielle Petrangelo was discharged. The bullet struck a female party within the apartment causing a non-fatal injury,” police said.
The suspect who apparently prompted the call for police assistance fled out the back door and has since been located by police, according to the release. That person has not been arrested, Lt. Richard Light said today.
Robert Connell, who identified himself as the victim’s uncle, has said she is pregnant and the mother of two.

Moore police officer accidentally shot by second officer

A Moore police officer was accidentally shot by another

MOORE — A Moore police officer was accidentally shot by another officer Tuesday evening while they were preparing to enter a home where a man had barricaded himself inside, police said.

The tactical team officer, Sgt. Michael Leonard, who was shot in the leg with a rifle round by another team member, was listed as medically stable at a hospital, Moore police spokesman Jeremy Lewis said.

The round went through Leonard's leg, and he is expected to recover, Lewis said. Leonard is a seven-year veteran of the Moore Police Department.

Police were outside a home near NE 18 and Bellaire Drive in Moore because a man thought to be armed and suicidal was inside the home and uncommunicative. Just as officers were about to breach the home about 6 p.m., the officer's rifle discharged, hitting the officer in the leg.

Inside the home, police found the barricaded man, whose name was not released by police, with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head, Lewis said.

The man was taken to a hospital in critical condition, he said.

Mass. police officer allegedly accidentally shoots pregnant woman.

Mass. police officer allegedly accidentally shoots pregnant woman.

Agawam police officers responded to a 911 call at Elizabeth Manor apartments when an officer's gun accidentally discharged; an investigation is underway

At what point do you think we should have a police oversight board?

Hey Sharon:

At what point do you think we should have a police oversight board?  When the cops pull off another bank robbery? (One of them robbed a bank once, no kidding)  A mass murder? Wholesale looting? What’s the starting point to spark the Board of Supervisors into stopping police misconduct in Fairfax County?

There is no need to be scared, the federal government will protect you, and if it’s a matter of having to explain the 250 assigned union contributions under different spouses names to various campaigns to get around those annoying campaign laws (Yeah, we know about that, it’s an old trick) just say you didn’t know who they were when you took the money and give it back, pretend outraged when you do it, that helps.

Do something.

In the past 12 months…………………

October 24, 2011 Fairfax Cop arrested for drunk driving

November 14, 2011, two Fairfax cops accused of beating an unarmed man walking home from work.

September 2011, Fairfax cop charged with domestic assault

Feb 2012, several Fairfax County cops accused of beating up teenager in a McDonalds.

March 2012 Police Captain gets a five figure pay out due to interoffice pissing match

March 2012, a cop who “Resigned from the force for reasons that can not be released” two years ago, killed himself and teenage daughter with a pistol.

May 2012: Fairfax cop arrested for sexual assault.

And those only the incidents the cops HAD to explain to the public…

Cop Arrested for Stealing Baby Food

Nassau Police Officer Arrested for Stealing Baby Food

A Nassau County police officer was arrested Tuesday morning after he allegedly stole baby food from a West Hempstead store at an earlier date.

According to investigators, Thomas Welsh, 48, entered the Stop and Shop located at 520 Cherry Valley Lane in West Hempstead and secreted numerous pouches of baby food on his person using plastic bags and a bungee cord. The value of the merchandise was approximately $40.

The Nassau County Internal Affairs Unit arrested Welsh Tuesday morning at 9 a.m. at police headquarters in Mineola.

Welsh was charged with petit larceny and possession of burglary tools. He was released on an appearance ticket and will appear at First District Court in Hempstead on May 17.

A police spokesman told The Associated Press that Welsh, a 25-year veteran of the force assigned to the Records Bureau, has been suspended without pay for 30 days.

According to Newsday [paid link]:

Welsh, on the job since 1986, earned $147,607.43 in 2010, including base salary and overtime, according to county payroll records. He is assigned to the police department's records bureau, which helps handle gun-permit requests, processes prisoners and tests suspected drunken drivers.

Tenn. police arrest man for paying with real $50

Published May 01, 2012

Associated Press

SHELBYVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee police are apologizing after arresting a man for using a $50 bill they thought was fake but that turned out to be real.

Police in Shelbyville thought the bill was counterfeit after a convenience store clerk called them. The clerk said a marker used to detect false money didn't show the bill was real.

The Shelbyville Times-Gazette (http://bit.ly/JL6mJx) reported Officer Brock Horner arrested Lorenzo Gaspar on Friday.

But a police evidence technician told the arresting officer that some old bills don't react to the markers. So police gave the money to two banks to check, and they said it was real but just very old.

Gaspar was released from jail and police apologized to him.

Police Impersonation Case Dismissed in Va.

Police Impersonation Case Dismissed in Va.

A Fairfax County judge wasted no time yesterday dismissing a criminal case against a former Prince George's County corrections official, finding the charge against her baseless after watching a videotape that showed she did not, as prosecutors alleged, claim to be a sworn officer.

After reviewing the video, recorded by a camera mounted in a police car, and hearing from an investigating officer, the judge addressed the prosecutor even before former deputy corrections director Rose C. Merchant's attorney could rise from his seat.

"Ma'am, there's no case here," Fairfax General District Court Judge Ian M. O'Flaherty told Assistant Fairfax Commonwealth's Attorney Erin Sylvester. "This case is dismissed."

In February, after Merchant was arrested by Fairfax police on a misdemeanor charge of impersonating a law enforcement official, Prince George's promptly fired her from the civilian job she had held since August 2005. Merchant, 38, a clinical psychologist with a PhD from Howard University, would like to return to the position, her attorney, Darwyn L. Easley, said.

Prince George's officials yesterday declined to discuss Merchant's firing. Vicki D. Duncan, a spokeswoman for the county Department of Corrections, referred questions to County Executive Jack B. Johnson's office. James Keary, a spokesman for Johnson, said officials would not comment on a personnel matter.

At Easley's instruction, Merchant did not speak for the record. But Easley said: "It was wrong. It was terrible what Fairfax County did. It is horrible what Prince George's did. It's frightening that they can make these kinds of allegations. Without the video, she would have faced a year in jail."

The case started Feb. 8, Sylvester said, when a motorist on the Capital Beltway flagged down a state trooper and alleged that a black Mercedes had zoomed up behind him, turned on flashing blue lights inside the car's grill, forcing him off the road and then sped away. The driver jotted down the car's license plate number. Virginia State Police handed the case over to Fairfax police as a possible instance of police impersonation.

Officer Robert M. Bauer took up the investigation. He found that the license number was registered to Merchant and called her. The next night, Feb. 9, Merchant and her husband drove to a 7-Eleven in Annandale to meet Bauer and two other officers.

In court, Bauer testified that he searched Merchant's 2008 Mercedes S sedan and found neither blue lights nor an activation switch.

The encounter was captured on videotape. Bauer and Merchant are mostly out of view in the video, but their conversation was recorded fairly clearly.

On the tape, Merchant and her husband demand that the officer tell them who made the accusations. "I just need to know who filed charges so we can file charges," Merchant tells the officer. "It's very embarrassing. I'm a public safety person." She specifies that she is a deputy director of corrections in Prince George's.

Merchant becomes upset with Bauer, who declines her request, and demands to speak to his supervisor. When a lieutenant arrives, Bauer tells him, incorrectly: "She claims she's a deputy commissioner of police and fire. I looked her up; I can't find her. She pulls out a badge."

Merchant, who was charged under what her lawyer has said is her married name, Rose C. Clark, tells the lieutenant that Bauer didn't "need to talk to me like that. I am second in charge of the Department of Corrections. I work in public safety; you could at least give me some professional courtesy." She repeats her position several times to the lieutenant but does not ask for leniency.

In court yesterday, before Easley could question the officer, the judge stepped in. "Tell me what on that tape indicates any offense was committed," he asked of Sylvester.
Sylvester said the showing of a badge and the mention of public safety was the violation, but O'Flaherty promptly dismissed the charge without argument from either side. Outside of court, Sylvester declined to comment.

"It is wrong that she has had to endure this ordeal," Easley said later. He said the Fairfax police and Prince George's government will move on to "business as usual, but what about Dr. Merchant? What about her record, her livelihood, her reputation? Today we are thankful that the first steps were taken to right this wrong. And be sure, there will be other measures taken as well."

He declined to be more specific.