Website and automated forms processes, Copyright
2007, Matthew August LeFande.
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rights reserved. No claim to original government forms
Website and automated forms processes, Copyright
2007, Matthew August LeFande.
All
rights reserved. No claim to original government forms
Illinois Democrat likens gun owners to sex offenders
Republican State Senator Peter Roskam was fired upon by gun control advocates Wednesday on the Illinois Senate floor for sponsoring a compromise bill closing the state’s so-called “gun show loophole” and at the same time erasing gun purchaser lists after ninety days.
SB 57 is now on its way to an expected veto by Governor Rod Blagojevich.
“We are in an arena of compromise,” Roskam said in response to criticism by colleagues during floor debate. “SB 57 will require background checks when buying a firearm at a gun show and it will eliminate the state from keeping lists on law-abiding citizens.”
Law enforcement groups lobbied to protect the gun purchaser data bases, saying they are an effective law enforcement tool. The final version of SB 57 prevents deleting the names of gun buyers currently suspected of criminal activity.
Gun control advocates complained in the Senate debate Wednesday that a vote against the bill could be interpreted as a vote against closing the gun show loophole, a vote they did not want to be confused.
Sex offenders’ names are kept on record, Democratic Senator Kwame Raoul said, why shouldn't gun purchasers’ names be archived, as well?
http://www.illinoisleader.com/news/newsview.asp?c=25823
posted by Matthew LeFande 6:51 PM
matt@lefande.com
Fang Bangbus
It's the charter bus from HELL!!! And if you see one of these coming your way, you'd probably want to get out of the way in a hurry.
Presented as the world's most advanced Anti-Riot Bus, this jumbo paddy wagon was revealed at this week's 5th annual Public safety Equipment Expo in Shanghai.
The 40 foot long black monster is all business:
- All windows tinted and fitted with wire mesh protection (except for a small opening for the driver to see out)
- Small round openings on the side and rear windows used for firing crowd-dispersing rounds.
- Wrapped in reinforced metal plates imported from Italy and the chassis alone cost over $2 million RMB (roughly 1/4 million US dollars).
- Interior features adjustable seating arrangement for maximum transporting capability.
http://news.chinacars.com/newsfiles/200505/109844.htm
posted by Matthew LeFande 3:41 PM
matt@lefande.com
Shaq works on hunting down sexual predators
He's Shaquille O'Neal, the world's largest undercover officer.
O'Neal, who is currently leading the Miami Heat against the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference finals, has joined a Department of Justice task force that tracks down sexual predators who target children on the Internet.
The 7-foot-1, 325-pound center was recently sworn in as a U.S. deputy marshal and, on the Saturday afternoon before the Miami-Washington playoff series, O'Neal spent six hours with Miami Beach police investigators helping with cases.
Miami Beach Police Chief Don De Lucca says O'Neal is becoming familiar with the techniques and software the officers use to track down the predators. O'Neal spends countless hours on his home computer, logging into the police network and learning the ropes.
"I put a lot into it, and when I am done playing, I plan on going undercover and then being the sheriff or chief of police somewhere, either Miami or Orlando, I don't know yet," O'Neal said recently. "Everyone knows the love I have for the people who defend the streets and the people who defend our country, the armed forces, the Army, Navy, Marines. I want to do something like that, help the community.
"And I want to do it the right way, like everybody else, not just a famous figurehead that gets a job because he is a famous basketball player. I want to really learn the business."
Raised by a stepfather who was an Army sergeant, O'Neal has been interested in law enforcement since he was a teenager. Two of his uncles also worked in law enforcement.
While playing for the Los Angeles Lakers, O'Neal went through the police academy and became a reserve officer with the L.A. Port Police. When two Los Angeles police patrol cars were burned during celebrations for the 2000 Lakers NBA title, O'Neal wrote a personal check for $42,893 to replace one of the vehicles.
During the 2000 offseason, he rode along with the Orange County Sheriff's Office in Florida. They recovered three stolen cars and made a handful of arrests.
After being traded to Miami, O'Neal contacted Miami Beach police about becoming a reserve officer. He drops by the department regularly for one-on-one instruction, speaks to De Lucca at least once a week, and is a few training hours shy of being certified to make arrests, conduct search warrants and carry a .40-caliber pistol.
"Shaq's interest in police work is very real," De Lucca said. "I've always said law enforcement is a calling, and I believe Shaquille has been called.
"He'd be a great undercover guy. Obviously, we're not going to send him out to buy dope, but he can do surveillance, he can do Internet crimes. He has an incredible thirst for information, he's street-smart, and he's a communicator and leader. I just hope it's not my job he comes after, or I'm in trouble."
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/state/content/gen/ap/BKN_ONeal_Undercover.html
posted by Matthew LeFande 11:58 AM
matt@lefande.com
Super Soaker Flamethrower
Windshield washing fluid + water gun + fire = fun.
Video.
http://gprime.net/video.php/supersoakerflamethrower
posted by Matthew LeFande 1:45 PM
matt@lefande.com
Judge clears 159mph UK cop of speeding
A police officer caught driving at 159mph while "familiarising himself" with an unmarked patrol car was cleared of speeding yesterday.
Road safety groups condemned the decision to acquit Pc (Police constable) Mark Milton and the father of a girl knocked down by a speeding police car said the ruling showed "there was one rule for us and one for them".
Pc Milton was reported after a fellow officer saw footage taken from the on-board camera of the new Vauxhall Vectra 3.2 litre GSI, which recorded Pc Milton hitting 159mph on the M54 near Telford, Shropshire, in the early hours of Dec 5, 2003.
He was also accused of "grossly excessive" speed and driving dangerously on the A5 near Telford at 137mph, and on the town's Redhill Way and St Georges Road at speeds of around 100mph.
Pc Milton, who is an advanced police driver, told the court he had taken the car out to assess its capabilities, which he was encouraged to do. The road was "deserted" and conditions were clear.
The officer had not told his superiors what he was doing, or the speeds he reached, because he was not required to do so.
David Twigg, defending, told Ludlow magistrates court that Pc Milton was not a "recalcitrant schoolboy or even a rookie recruit driving for kicks or to impress a newly-acquired female companion" and he "should not need a note from teacher" to practise his driving.
He said the case had been brought on the basis of a series of misconceptions, including a now discredited notion that Pc Milton was "doing something sly" and was unaware of the on-board video recording when, in fact, he had switched the machine on.
Acquitting him of dangerous driving and speeding, District Judge Bruce Morgan criticised the investigation into Pc Milton and described the 38-year-old officer as among the "creme de la creme" of police drivers.
He said: "I can't help but see the irony that those that brought this prosecution are those very people who have purchased cars that go at this speed and paid for him to learn to drive at speed."
He accepted that Pc Milton, from Bratton, Telford, had driven at "eye-watering" speeds, but criticised West Mercia police for its "total lack of policy" on when and where police drivers should practise driving at very high speeds, describing it as one of "do your own thing".
He said he was clearing Pc Milton of dangerous driving because none of the witnesses, including his fellow officers, said his driving was dangerous.
He added: "Those who get their (advanced level driving) certificates should be able to familiarise themselves with it. We have to live in the real world. Criminals are not so considerate as to only commit their offences in broad daylight and then make their getaway on traffic-free roads.
''I am told that advanced drivers have to keep their skills finely tuned in the same way that batsmen don't walk to the crease at Lord's without practising - batsmen have spent countless hours in the nets, learning and re-learning and digesting their art."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/05/19/nspeed19.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/05/19/ixnewstop.html
posted by Matthew LeFande 11:47 AM
matt@lefande.com
Bill seeks to let residents keep guns for safety
A fresh move is afoot on Capitol Hill to overturn local gun laws in the District.
"Many people live in the District during the week who are members of Congress and they would like to be able to protect themselves in their homes," said Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, the Texas Republican who wrote the D.C. Personal Protection Act of 2005.
Mrs. Hutchison said if the measure passes, she will resume her longtime practice of keeping a handgun in her bedroom.
"Every woman in the District of Columbia should have the ability to protect herself in her home, particularly if she is there alone most of the time," Mrs. Hutchison said yesterday.
Mrs. Hutchinson's bill would enable city residents to keep loaded handguns in their homes for personal protection. Most private handgun ownership in the District has been prohibited by law since 1976.
"Crack down on the criminal as opposed to taking away the rights of law-abiding citizens," said Sen. George Allen, Virginia Republican.
"A law-abiding citizen is not going to use a gun to settle a domestic disturbance," said Mr. Allen, who suggested city residents get gun safety training before acquiring weapons.
"It's obvious that this experiment in gun control has failed," said Sen. John Cronyn, Texas Republican.
He and other supporters cited what they said was a 200 percent increase in the homicide rate over the past 29 years as proof that criminals ignore the policy.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/metro/20050520-121244-6999r.htm
posted by Matthew LeFande 7:27 AM
matt@lefande.com
Officers fired over nude photos on suspect's phone
Two Houston police officers were fired after they were accused of downloading nude photographs of a suspected drunken driver from her camera phone.
Officers Christopher Green, 34, and George Miller, 38, were indefinitely suspended late last week, tantamount to firing in the department.
A search warrant for Green's home accused him of transferring nude photos from the college student's cellular phone to his personal digital assistant. The warrant also alleged that Miller left the woman a message suggesting they meet at an Italian cafe.
The woman's attorney, Ned Gill, has said he has no idea why she had nude photos of herself, or why the officers examined the phone. The woman is from China and speaks little English, Gill said.
http://www.azcentral.com/offbeat/articles/0519officers-fired19-ON.html
posted by Matthew LeFande 3:10 PM
matt@lefande.com
Ecoterrorism a major threat, FBI says
Environmental and animal rights activists who have turned to arson and explosives are the nation's top domestic terrorism threat, an FBI official told a Senate committee on Wednesday.
Groups such as the Animal Liberation Front, the Earth Liberation Front and Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty are ''way out in front'' in terms of damage and number of crimes, said John Lewis, the FBI's deputy assistant director for counterterrorism.
''There is nothing else going on in this country over the last several years that is racking up the high number of violent crimes and terrorist actions,'' Lewis said.
ALF says on its Web site that its small, autonomous groups of people take ''direct action'' against animal abuse by rescuing animals and causing financial loss to animal exploiters, usually through damage and destruction of property. ELF is an underground movement with no public leadership, membership or spokesman.
Lewis said the FBI concluded that after analyzing all types of cases and comparing the groups with ''right-wing extremists, KKK, anti-abortion groups and the like.'' He said most animal rights and eco-extremists so far have refrained from violence targeting human life.
''The FBI has observed troubling signs that this is changing. We have seen an escalation in violent rhetoric and tactics,'' he told the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. ''Attacks are also growing in frequency and size.''
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-eco19.html
posted by Matthew LeFande 10:01 AM
matt@lefande.com
Flags at half-staff for Joe Pozell
City flags will fly at half-staff in honor of the reserve D.C. police officer who died Tuesday, three days after he was struck by a car while directing traffic in Georgetown, D.C. Mayor Anthony A. Williams said yesterday.
Officer Joseph Pozell, a three-year veteran of the Metropolitan Police Department, also will get a full police funeral, appropriate for someone who died in the line of duty, Mr. Williams said.
"Joe is someone who exemplifies the ideal of public service," Mr. Williams said. "He worked in his community in his regular job, and in addition he volunteered with the police department in his spare time."
Officer Pozell, 59, was struck by a Honda CR-V Saturday afternoon when the vehicle, driven by a 19-year-old Northern Virginia woman, was starting out from a green light, going north on Wisconsin Avenue and turning left onto westbound M Street.
Officer Pozell was taken to the George Washington University Hospital, where he was admitted in critical condition. He was taken off life support at about 9:45 p.m. Tuesday, after relatives -- including his 13 siblings -- made their way to the District.
Investigators with the police department's Major Crash Investigations Unit determined that Officer Pozell stepped back into the path of the oncoming Honda CR-V. The case was reviewed by the U.S. Attorney's Office, which declined to press charges against the driver, Julia R. Matthews, of McLean.
"It's a true loss, not only to the department, but to the community at large," said Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey. "I don't think he anticipated or that he was aware of the impact he had on so many people and the officers he worked with in the 2nd District."
Officer Pozell managed the Oak Hill Cemetery in Northwest and lived on the property with his wife of nearly 30 years, Ella. Mr. Pozell also had an adult son.
Police said Officer Pozell had volunteered on many weeknights for nearly 18 months to help ease congestion during rush hour in Georgetown.
William Starrels, an advisory neighborhood commissioner in Georgetown, awarded Officer Pozell a commendation in March 2004. The commendation, on behalf of ANC 2E, is reserved for those who "go over and beyond their jobs and benefit the community as a whole."
"He was deeply appreciated and liked by the community and everyone who passed through Georgetown," Mr. Starrels said. He said he thought of Officer Pozell as he passed through the intersection of Wisconsin Avenue and M Street last night.
"It was chaos, because Joe wasn't there to keep it clear," he said.
Hundreds of people, including Mr. Williams and Chief Ramsey, turned out at a candlelight vigil held in Georgetown Monday night in Officer Pozell's honor. Mr. Williams said he and other city officials would also attend Officer Pozell's funeral.
A viewing will be held at Oak Hill Cemetery between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. Sunday. Funeral services will be at the Washington National Cathedral at 10 a.m. Monday, with interment to follow at Oak Hill Cemetery.
Flags at Metropolitan Police Department facilities also will fly at half-staff and D.C. police officers will be authorized to wear black mourning bands over their badges.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/metro/20050518-100422-7307r.htm
posted by Matthew LeFande 8:11 AM
matt@lefande.com
Senators Cower Before a Pro-Terror Bully
Across the Atlantic, Galloway is sometimes referred to as a member of the British Parliament. But others call this lefty lackey for butchers "the MP for Baghdad Central."
So it was yesterday that the arrogant, Saddam-loving bully stood before Congress. Speaking with an accent that was equal parts Mike Myers and Baghdad Bob, he administered a sound public thrashing of all things American.
He insulted our administration. He decried the war against terror.
And Galloway steadfastly refused to answer directly a single question about the ways he might have profited from terror.
It gets worse.
As he hijacked Congress to unleash his outrageous, insulting tirade, our senators did not pipe up.
Rather, they assumed the look of frightened little boys caught with pants around their ankles, nervously awaiting punishment.
Galloway's love of greedy and bloodthirsty tyrants dates back to his days as a local official in Scotland. He flew the flag of Yasser Arafat's Palestine over his hometown of Dundee.
A decade ago, he told the murderous Saddam Hussein, "Sir, I salute your courage, your strength and your indefatigability."
His loyalty was richly repaid, according to a Senate investigation of the oil-for-food program — which acted like the United Nations' piggybank for bribery.
Galloway was said to be rewarded by Saddam under that program with millions of barrels of oil he bought at sweetheart rates. And then, says the Senate, he laundered the profits through his charity, Mariam Appeal — which raised money to help a 4-year-old Iraqi girl fight leukemia.
It was strange that the Senate committee members seemed taken aback when Galloway launched his blistering attack against the war that toppled his main man.
Staring at committee chairman Norm Coleman (R-Minn.), he said, "Senator, in everything I said aboutIraq, I turned out to be right and you turned out to be wrong, and 100,000 people have paid with their lives — 1,600 of them American soldiers."
He weaved, dodged and went on the offensive whenever his role in the oil-for-food scandal was raised.
It's time to take the gloves off, senators.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nypost/20050518/cm_nypost/punypolscowerbeforeaproterrorbully
posted by Matthew LeFande 7:12 AM
matt@lefande.com
Murderer Nabbed for Jaywalking
A few missteps - literally - and a 44-year-old man wanted for murder was back in jail after more than two weeks on the lam.
Robert Barnes, 44, charged with killing 45-year-old Jerry Coates in July, had managed to elude capture until he jaywalked in front of a Salt Lake City police officer.
When the officer ran his name in a computer database, the outstanding no-bail warrant popped up.
Anytime you catch a murderer for jaywalking, said police spokesman Dwayne Baird, "that's a good deal."
http://www.fox23.com/news/weird_news/story.aspx?content_id=02F98AA4-6FA0-4799-AF98-82A12DF17931
posted by Matthew LeFande 7:06 AM
matt@lefande.com
Beer Stolen In Virginia Home Invasion
Three men are wanted in a rather unusual armed burglary in James City County.
Police say the masked men burst into a home early Tuesday night when the sun was still up. The residents were inside when the bandits busted through the kitchen door. They ordered the victims to the floor, and grabbed the loot, which included beer and cigarettes. The home invasion happened on Forest Court in the Forest Glen neighborhood.
James City County investigators are trying to solve this home invasion. Police say three masked gunmen forced their way into the home of a 69-year old cancer patient. Southy Lee was also home at the time.
He describes what happened, "So they walked right up to me and held a gun right up to the top of my head and said, we come to rob ya'll."
With their lives being threatened, the victims were ordered to the floor. Their wallets were taken. As the bandit left through the kitchen, they managed to grab-up a couple more things.
Lee says, "Yeah, a little over $100. Some beer and some Newport cigarettes. They love Newports. Willing to kill for them."
Police have a good description of one of the men. They aren't releasing his name, but he apparently didn't do a good job of hiding his identity.
"I said Dennis, what's going on?" Lee continues with the story, "I recognized him. He had a mask over his mouth up to his nose."
The investigation led police to another house in James Cty County, where they found most of the evidence consumed. There were empty beer cans scattered around. Authorities took a couple of guys in for questioning. As of six o'clock Wednesday night, no one had been charged.
http://www.wtkr.com/Global/story.asp?S=3363565
posted by Matthew LeFande 7:05 AM
matt@lefande.com
Traffic Officer Struck in Georgetown Dies of Injuries
Joseph Pozell, the volunteer traffic officer who was struck by a sport-utility vehicle Saturday in Georgetown, died last night at George Washington University Hospital, D.C. police said.
Pozell, 59, a well-known figure in the Georgetown area, had been in grave condition since being struck while directing traffic at Wisconsin Avenue and M Street NW.
He died at 9:47 p.m. with his wife, Ella, his son, Joseph Jr., and other relatives at his bedside.
"Joe put up one heck of a fight," said Ed Solomon, a close friend who was at the hospital last night. "It will take a long time to recover from this."
Sgt. Brett Parson of the police department's family support unit, who served as a family spokesman, said Pozell had been on life support, but his "heart just gave out."
Parson said family members asked him to "express their undying gratitude and appreciation" for the support and prayers of the community and for the efforts of Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey and his department to provide aid and comfort.
Parson said officials are planning a "full police funeral for a line-of-duty death," to be held at Washington National Cathedral. A date has not been set.
For many years, Pozell had been superintendent of the historic Oak Hill Cemetery on R Street NW, where he and his wife lived in quarters on the grounds.
A candlelight vigil held for him at nightfall Monday, at a park near the cemetery, drew the mayor and other officials in addition to many police officers and community residents.
They recognized him as the embodiment of public spiritedness, a man concerned with helping others, who saw work that needed to be done and decided to do it himself.
In his case, it was the job of directing the frenzied, tangled flow of automobiles and pedestrians at Wisconsin and M, one of the busiest intersections in the metropolitan area.
By all accounts, Pozell was an artist at his task, spinning and whirling, waving his arms and issuing blasts from his whistle to impose order at the chaotic crossing in Georgetown.
He was struck about 3:40 p.m. when he apparently stepped into the path of a Honda CR-V that was turning west onto M Street from Wisconsin Avenue. He was struck with great force, and his head hit the pavement.
Police called the death an accident and said the 19-year-old McLean woman who was driving the vehicle had a green light.
In interviews and in remarks at the vigils, formal and informal, police and others pointed to him as someone who could not do enough to contribute to the community in which he lived and to the welfare of his fellow residents.
For a long time he had been a civilian volunteer with the police department, frequently answering telephones or performing other such tasks that freed uniformed personnel for street duties.
But police Capt. Patrick Burke said Pozell "always wanted to do more and more." He became a reserve officer three years ago, which permitted him to direct traffic, and subsequently took command for long stretches at Wisconsin and M.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/18/AR2005051800066.html
posted by Matthew LeFande 8:39 AM
matt@lefande.com
Seeking sanity in the asylum
Reaction to an inaccurate Newsweek report that led recently to rioting and death in Afghanistan suggests that hysteria is, indeed, contagious.
To briefly recap, Newsweek reported in a small blurb (May 9) that American interrogators at Guantanamo Bay had flushed a Quran down a toilet in attempts to get Muslim terror suspects to talk. Once the Newsweek story was broadcast abroad, the usually reticent hate-America crowd erupted in mass pique. Havoc ensued. At least 15 Afghans died and many more were injured.
All because of a story that may not have been true. The "knowledgeable U.S. government source" who told Newsweek's Michael Isikoff and John Barry about the flushing apparently wasn't so knowledgeable.
What we need here is a little perspective.
First, we all can agree that flushing a Quran down a toilet, if physically possible, would be both insensitive and rude, though Westerners generally have a higher tolerance threshold for such offenses. Put it this way: You could flush a Bible down the toilet in front of Goober in Kabul, and it's unlikely that Mayberry suddenly would be awash in blood.
Without disrespecting true believers of Islam, one also could debate the relative miseries of seeing scripture disappear into the plumbing versus, say, watching airplanes fly into buildings, killing thousands of innocents. Remember, these are terrorist suspects captured after 9-11, not kidnapped members of an Afghan boys choir.
The apparent Newsweek mistake was regrettable, but we should beware allowing ourselves to mirror the emotional reactions of people who were by no measure justified in their response -- even if the story had been proven true. The same people foaming over a reported act of blasphemy didn't flinch while executing women for stepping outside sans burqa.
While the world was reacting in righteous indignation to the Newsweek report, another story was circulating about Turkish women in Germany being executed by family members in "honor killings" sanctioned by certain interpretations of the Quran. Their offense? Acting like Western women. Or, in the pithy words of a 14-year-old Turkish boy who was justifying an execution: "The whore lived like a German."
Islam isn't the problem here. The problem is ignorance and Islamist factions that will use the Quran for its purposes, whether to incite a riot or murder a woman who refuses to wear her headscarf.
The enemy is extremism.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/opinion/orl-edpparker18051805may18,0,7940333.column?coll=orl-opinion-headlines
posted by Matthew LeFande 7:57 AM
matt@lefande.com
Convicted Sex Offender Suspended From Blountsville, Alabama Police
A police officer has been suspended after members of the community pointed out he's a convicted sex offender.
John Matthew Langston was hired at the Blountsville Police Department based on his service record with the Vestavia Hills Police Department. He resigned from the Blountsville department Monday morning after being suspended by police Chief Mike Harris, who told him that there was a resident who alerted the District Attorney’s office of his history.
Langston was originally charged with sexually abusing a female under the age of 12 in March of 2003 while serving as a DARE officer with Vestavia Hills police. At that time, he was asked to surrender his badge and gun, and he later pled guilty to a misdemeanor sexual misconduct charge.
Harris said he was aware of Langston’s record when he hired him for the Blountsville department.
“He didn't keep anything from me,” said Harris. “He told me he was a registered sex offender, but it was a misdemeanor, and he told (me) the circumstances, and we checked (it) out, and I believed his story. He pled to a charge he was not guilty to.
“We called … the Alabama Police Officers and Standards Training commission. There was no reason he couldn't be a police officer. His certification had not been revoked. He is a skilled, certified police officer, and they told us there was no reason he couldn't be a police officer,” said Harris.
http://officer.com/article/article.jsp?siteSection=5&id=23664
posted by Matthew LeFande 7:34 AM
matt@lefande.com
Reserve Officer Struck In Georgetown Dies
The volunteer police officer who was hit by an SUV while directing traffic in Georgetown on Saturday has died.
Pozell was a fixture in Georgetown. He worked the busy intersection at Wisconsin Avenue and M Street.
He was 59 years old.
A car hit Pozell Saturday at the busy corner of Wisconsin Avenue and M Street in Georgetown.
Pozell was taken off life support earlier on Tuesday.
The family spokesman said Pozell's wife of nearly 30 years, Ella, knows this is the way her husband would have wanted it.
http://www.nbc4.com/news/4498469/detail.html
posted by Matthew LeFande 11:21 PM
matt@lefande.com
Reserve Officer Struck in Georgetown
A popular traffic officer who works one of the busiest intersections in Georgetown was struck by a sport-utility vehicle yesterday and rushed to George Washington University Hospital in critical condition, a D.C. police spokesman said.
The officer was identified by friends as Joseph Pozell, 59, a reserve officer who manages the Oak Hill Cemetery and lives on the grounds with his wife, Ella.
Pozell was directing traffic about 4 p.m. when a 19-year old Virginia woman driving a Honda CR-V ran into him, Sgt. Joe Gentile said. Police are investigating; Gentile said the woman "faces charges in connection with the incident." She has not been identified.
Michael Palermo, manager of the Papa-Razzi restaurant and bar, said he saw the accident. Palermo was walking to Georgetown Tobacco to buy cigarettes when he stopped at a crosswalk at M Street and Wisconsin Avenue. A gray Honda sped up Wisconsin to make a left on M Street, he said.
Pozell, standing on M Street and facing pedestrians in front of the Banana Republic clothing store, "had blown the whistle" and turned as he always did -- on one foot, like a dancer -- so he could see traffic coming from the other direction, Palermo said.
"I saw fear in his eyes. . . . The impact was unbelievable," Palermo said. "The woman hit him head-on. . . . I don't know how she missed seeing him. He was standing in the middle of the street."
After Pozell was struck, Palermo said, the young woman began screaming and crying. He said he rushed to get someone to call the police and then went to Pozell's side. "I said, 'Joe, Joe,' and there was no response," Palermo said.
Pozell is well-known in Georgetown. He has lived in the neighborhood for 34 years and has been an unpaid reserve officer for the police department for three years.
He began helping pedestrians and motorists navigate the traffic-choked intersection in Georgetown nearly 18 months ago. In November, he said he began directing traffic because it was "a good way to do something for the community."
John Gill, president of Oak Hill Cemetery, said Pozell has been the cemetery's superintendent for 20 years and celebrated his birthday last week.
"Everybody in Georgetown knows him," said Robert Novel, owner of O Salon, where Pozell got his hair cut on his birthday.
Novel said motorists drive too fast along M Street, Wisconsin Avenue and the narrow side streets in Georgetown, which usually are clogged.
Yesterday was no different. After the accident, many blocks on M Street leading into Georgetown were cordoned off with yellow police tape. Cars, trolleys and trucks were forced to travel slowly along K Street, which was gridlocked.
Novel and Palermo stood in front of Papa-Razzi, just feet away from Pozell's blue Chevrolet Blazer, talking about how cars normally whiz by.
"Speeding in Georgetown is unbelievable," Novel said. "This whole intersection is definitely an accident waiting to happen."
"It happened today," Palermo said, lowering his head.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/14/AR2005051401153.html
posted by Matthew LeFande 6:23 PM
matt@lefande.com
More Georgia Judges Carrying Guns
Spooked by the courthouse shootings in nearby Atlanta, some Clayton County judges are arming themselves with guns.
The judges requested the guns and firearms training from Clayton County police several weeks ago, Clayton County police Capt. Jeff Turner said.
Clayton Sheriff Victor Hill said police gave guns to eight Superior and State Court judges.
State law allows judges to carry guns in court, and Fulton County State Court Chief Judge A.L. Thompson said a few Fulton County judges have always carried guns. But since the March 11 shooting rampage, more are bringing their own guns to work, he said.
State and city judges in Columbus have also been arming themselves and getting firearms training from police.
Also, federal marshals will teach a five-day class on courthouse security for 50 Georgia law enforcement officials starting June 13 at the Clayton County Courthouse.
On March 11, Brian Nichols, who was on trial in Atlanta for rape, allegedly overpowered a lone deputy and stole her gun. Authorities say he then went on a shooting spree at the courthouse, killing Judge Rowland Barnes, court reporter Julie Ann Brandau and deputy Sgt. Hoyt Teasley. Federal agent David Wilhelm was killed later that day.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,156446,00.html
posted by Matthew LeFande 7:09 PM
matt@lefande.com
Border Patrol told to stand down in Arizona
U.S. Border Patrol agents have been ordered not to arrest illegal aliens along the section of the Arizona border where protesters patrolled last month because an increase in apprehensions there would prove the effectiveness of Minuteman volunteers, The Washington Times has learned.
More than a dozen agents, all of whom asked not to be identified for fear of retribution, said orders relayed by Border Patrol supervisors at the Naco, Ariz., station made it clear that arrests were "not to go up" along the 23-mile section of border that the volunteers monitored to protest illegal immigration.
"It was clear to everyone here what was being said and why," said one veteran agent. "The apprehensions were not to increase after the Minuteman volunteers left. It was as simple as that."
Another agent said the Naco supervisors "were clear in their intention" to keep new arrests to an "absolute minimum" to offset the effect of the Minuteman vigil, adding that patrols along the border have been severely limited.
Rep. Tom Tancredo, Colorado Republican, yesterday said "credible sources" within the Border Patrol also had told him of the decision by Naco supervisors to keep new arrests to a minimum, saying he was angry but not surprised.
"It's like telling a cop to stand by and watch burglars loot a store but don't arrest any of them," he said. "This is another example of decisions being made at the highest levels of the Border Patrol that are hurting morale and helping to rot the agency from within.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20050513-122032-5055r.htm
posted by Matthew LeFande 4:32 PM
matt@lefande.com
Rice says gun rights are as important as right to free speech and religion
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, recalling how her father took up arms to defend fellow blacks from racist whites in the segregated South, said Wednesday the constitutional right of Americans to own guns is as important as their rights to free speech and religion.
In an interview on CNN's ''Larry King Live,'' Rice said she came to that view from personal experience. She said her father, a black minister, and his friends armed themselves to defended the black community in Birmingham, Ala., against the White Knight Riders in 1962 and 1963. She said if local authorities had had lists of registered weapons, she did not think her father and other blacks would have been able to defend themselves.
Birmingham, where Rice was born in 1954, was a focal point of racial tension. Four black girls were killed when a bomb exploded at a Birmingham church in 1963, a galvanizing moment in the fight for civil rights.
Rice said she favored background checks and controls at gun shows. However, she added, ''we have to be very careful when we start abridging rights that the Founding Fathers thought very important.''
Rice said the Founding Fathers understood ''there might be circumstances that people like my father experienced in Birmingham, Ala., when, in fact, the police weren't going to protect you.''
''I also don't think we get to pick and choose from the Constitution,'' she said in the interview, which was taped for airing Wednesday night. ''The Second Amendment is as important as the First Amendment.''
http://famulus.msnbc.com/famulusgen/ap05-11-180357.asp?t=apnew&vts=51120051832
posted by Matthew LeFande 12:31 PM
matt@lefande.com
NO AMMO, PLEASE, WE'RE BRITISH
Say it ain't so: The British are now so gun-shy, even their MILITARY is gun-shy. A reader forwarded this, headed: "On British and Australian individual weapon procedure, from a friend in Country": "Our British and Australian colleagues immediately unload all guns (rifles and pistols) upon coming back through the wire, even though we live in a uninterrupted combat zone. Since we have to depend on them, I habitually ask, 'Are all your guns loaded?' Imagine my surprise when I first discovered that, in British military jargon, 'loaded' translates to 'transport mode.' [loaded magazine, but empty chamber]
"They are so afraid of actually putting a live round in the chamber of any rifle or pistol, most even carry outside the wire with an empty chamber. When they do load, they instantly unload every chance they get, even when it is conspicuously unwise to do so.
"Loaded guns are treated as if they carried some contagious disease!
"Don't get me wrong. Brits and Aussies are good soldiers, but they have been philosophically castrated by their respective nanny-states. In their national confusion, fear of guns has become a ubiquitous, domestic obsessionn, and it has spilled over, even into the military.
"These two nations will indeed be lucky to survive this current period of world history."
The http://www.nationalreview.com/thecorner/05_05_08_corner-archive.asp#062773#062773
posted by Matthew LeFande 10:07 AM
matt@lefande.com
Student fires officer's gun in school
An Anderson County, SC Sheriff's Office deputy's gun discharged in a classroom at Lakeside Middle School, sending a bullet into the floor Wednesday and causing two students to be cut and scratched by flying debris, authorities said.
"We regret this most serious breach of protocol by the officer, and we are grateful that no student or adult was injured by the bullet," said District Five Superintendent Betty Bagley. "We will work with the Sheriff's Office to help ensure that this sort of breach does not occur again."
The gun was in the deputy's holster when it discharged, according to the school district statement.
Anderson County Sheriff David Crenshaw said the officer was talking to the students about how hard it would be to get an officer's gun when a female student managed to get a finger on the trigger and pulled it.
Two students received minor cuts from scratches from debris that flew up from the impact of the shot, according to statement released by the school district.
"Unfortunately there was a lapse in judgement in this situation," said Anderson County Chief Deputy Jim Busha.
http://greenvilleonline.com/news/2005/05/11/2005051164293.htm
posted by Matthew LeFande 8:01 AM
matt@lefande.com
Fake US security IDs found
Police have seized more than 1 000 fake badges and identity documents from 35 different United States security agencies, says the department of homeland security (DHS).
The badges and IDs from federal, state and city agencies, including the federal bureau of unvestigation, the US secret service, the drug enforcement agency and the New York police department, were found at the home of Sergio Khorosh after investigators traced 100 fake badges shipped to him from Taiwan.
Police also found several weapons, New York police uniforms and small quantities of marijuana and cocaine in the apartment and were trying to determine who were the potential buyers of the fake IDs and what use they were intended for.
Martin Ficke, of the DHS' customs and immigration enforcement said: "It's part of our investigation."
He said: "In any real serious ID check you have a badge and an ID to go with.
"But, we don't think that the public is scrutinising as much as we are in law enforcement."
http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,6119,2-10-1462_1703520,00.html
posted by Matthew LeFande 2:04 PM
matt@lefande.com
Arkansas Deputies Storm the Wrong Home
More than ten deputies trying to make a federal weapons arrest stormed the wrong home and ended up in a police officer's house.
Searcy officer Ann Owens said she's upset at the mistake and doesn't think there should have been any confusion between her house and the address the deputies needed.
Lt. Det. John Slater of the White County Sheriff's Department said the county officers couldn't find the right address and neighbor mistakenly pointed them to Owens' house. The officers were seeking out the home of Richard Attaway to arrest him on federal weapons and explosives charges.
The deputies stormed the home through an unlocked door and saw a picture of Owens and her family.
"We realized this house is too nice, something was wrong here," Slater said.
Slater instructed that everybody pull out and left the house as it was found, undamaged.
But Sheldon Owens said that a gate was broken in his home and that numerous clues should have tipped the deputies off that this was his and Anne's home and not Attaway's house.
http://www.lancasteronline.com/pages/news/ap/4/wrong_house
posted by Matthew LeFande 9:59 AM
matt@lefande.com
Sheriff Andy Taylor shot in head during traffic stop
Investigators say Deputy Andy Taylor, 28, of Llano, died Monday after being shot in the head during a traffic stop.
The shooting happened Sunday night in Kingsland, which is a town of about 4,600 located 45 miles northwest of Austin.
Investigators used Taylor's last radio transmission to track the accused shooter.
Eric Richard Wolfe, 30, was captured Monday in the wooded area of Cedar Point.
Sheriff's deputies say Wolfe has what appears to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He is at Brackenridge in "critical" condition.
Investigators are trying to determine what led to the shooting.
http://news8austin.com/content/top_stories/default.asp?ArID=136910
posted by Matthew LeFande 8:33 AM
matt@lefande.com
Police Shooting Caught On Tape
A high-speed chase ended in Compton, Calif. in a barrage of gunfire that injured two men, including a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy who may have been caught in the crossfire of other deputies.
The deputy was treated for a minor injury at a hospital and released.
The suspect, an unidentified male, was taken to a hospital and is listed in stable condition.
Television footage shows the SUV being chased through a residential neighborhood, then blocked by a patrol car around the same location shots were first reported. At least three deputies can be seen firing shots at the SUV as it slowly rolled toward a patrol car, then rear-ended it. At least one bullet struck the windshield.
http://kcal9.com/topstories/topstories_story_129144847.html
posted by Matthew LeFande 8:08 AM
matt@lefande.com
Siblings say man filing claim in shooting death isn't family
Richard Miller claims emotional pain and suffering, loss of companionship and loss of financial support in connection with the death of his brother, Eric Williams, a homeless man shot dead April 14 by a Michigan State Trooper.
But who is Richard Miller? And is he really Williams' brother?
Eight of Williams' siblings say they don't know the 34-year-old Detroiter. But Miller, through attorneys, has already filed a petition to be the representative of Williams' estate, making him the lead beneficiary to any potential money from a lawsuit.
Miller says he and Eric Williams had the same father and that he had known him for 30 years.
Both sides will be paying attention today when Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy is expected to announce whether Trooper Jay Morningstar will be charged criminally.
Williams, 40, was homeless and had mental problems, family members say. He was partially naked with his pants down when Morningstar shot and killed him at 12:30 a.m. in front of the Detroiter Bar near Greektown.
Williams, known on the streets as Magoo, was unarmed, police said, and a videotape of the incident exists. State Police have said Williams aggressively approached Morningstar.
Meanwhile, Miller, through Southfield attorneys Geoffrey Fieger and Paul Broschay, filed a civil rights lawsuit in U.S. District Court against Morningstar four days after Williams' death. Additional civil claims of gross negligence, assault and battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress are pending in another lawsuit against Morningstar in Wayne County Circuit Court.
The siblings, who arranged Williams' funeral, are contesting the estate and have filed a legal objection to Miller's petition. Eric Williams and the eight surviving siblings are all children of the late Grace Alice Williams, they say.
And they are livid.
"I just can't believe this," said Tayana Williams, Eric Williams' 31-year-old sister, of Miller's legal maneuvers. "This is clearly money-grabbing. I don't even know this man."
Georgetta Williams, Eric's 34-year-old sister, said she never met Miller until a rally on Beaubien -- the shooting scene.
"I've never seen that man before," she said. "If he came up to me right now, I wouldn't know who he was. I think a lot of people claimed him as their brother because they knew him downtown. Eric and I were raised in the same house. Now we have to go to court to prove we are."
Miller, contacted Friday, said the family knew his late father, Nicholas Miller Sr., whom he claims is Eric Williams' father.
"That's horrible that they're lying," he said. "They know Nicholas Miller was Eric's father."
Williams' other family members have a piece of paper they believe will cause them to prevail: a birth certificate. The certificate lists the late Charles Cortez as Eric Williams' father.
Broschay didn't appear to be concerned about the birth certificate.
"We think we have sufficient evidence to prove that our client was a sibling of the deceased notwithstanding the name on the birth certificate," he said.
Miller said money isn't the issue.
"I just want to see this guy Morningstar brought to justice," he said.
Round 1 on the estate battle is May 16 in front of Wayne Probate Judge Milton Mack Jr.
In another behind-the-scenes dispute, attorney Johnny Hawkins, who represents Tayana Williams and other family members, said Fieger has called him and wanted to work together. The call left Hawkins puzzled since Fieger has already filed a lawsuit on behalf of Miller.
"The bottom line is I'm not going to work with Geoff," Hawkins said.
Fieger said he was merely offering assistance. He explained that the potential winnings of a lawsuit will be divided up among family members.
"I filed the case," Fieger said. "There are a whole lot of lawyers who would want me to be the lead attorney in a case. Who wouldn't want Geoff Fieger? That's professional jealousy."
http://www.freep.com/news/locway/homeless9e_20050509.htm
posted by Matthew LeFande 9:00 AM
matt@lefande.com
Veterans' Web Sites Expose Pseudo Heroes, Phony Honors
From the minute FBI Special Agent Thomas A. Cottone Jr. saw Walter K. Carlson, he suspected that something wasn't quite right about the decorated war hero. The two men met at a Washington Township, N.J., funeral service for Marine Second Lt. John Thomas Wroblewski, 25 years old, killed in Iraq in last spring.
"Thousands of people were there, but when that captain walked past me wearing the Navy Cross and a chest full of medals and ribbons," Mr. Cottone says, "I whispered to my friend, something is wrong with that guy."
Mr. Cottone, whose duties at the Federal Bureau of Investigation include investigating military imposters, subsequently followed his hunch, determining, he says, that Mr. Carlson, 59 years old and a local bus dispatcher, didn't earn the medals he was wearing; in fact, Mr. Cottone says, Mr. Carlson never even served in the military. Mr. Carlson declined to comment.
It is illegal under federal law to wear an unauthorized military uniform or unearned decorations. Mr. Carlson was arrested, released on $10,000 bond and ordered to surrender all military materials. A trial was averted when he agreed to a pretrial probation program, says Mr. Cottone.
With patriotism at a high plateau of late, the U.S. military currently receives a level of respect not seen since World War II. Unlike the Vietnam War era, today even those who oppose the war in Iraq profess to be staunch supporters of the men and women who serve there. The heightened admiration has given way to a growing number of military impostors, and in turn sparked an impassioned group of crusaders determined to expose the mock heros who festoon themselves with unearned medals.
The FBI's Mr. Cottone estimates that for every actual Navy Seal today, at least 300 people falsely claim to be one. The Congressional Medal of Honor Society in Mount Pleasant, S.C., suspects that the number of people who falsely claim to have received a Medal of Honor is more than double the 124 living recipients.
The Department of Veterans Affairs will prosecute only those military impostors who try to register for veterans' benefits. Law enforcement lacks the resources to investigate all but the most aggravated situations; as a result, the law that led to Mr. Carlson's arrest is rarely enforced. At the same time, military discharge papers and Purple Hearts can be bought on eBay by the dozen.
Concerned with a burgeoning army of dissemblers, actual veterans and other are turning to the Internet to stop the fakers in their tracks. POWnetwork.org, HomeOfHeroes.com, AuthentiSEAL.org and VeriSEAL.org, among other Web sites, provide concerned citizens with a free investigation into a person's military status. AuthentiSEAL.org and VeriSEAL.org neither solicit nor accept funds. POWnetwork.org and HomeOfHeroes.com both have some sponsors but the vast majority of their funding comes out of their founders' own pockets. None of them make a profit from their endeavors.
Once a fibber is detected by these sites, the jig is up. The investigators have no enforcement power of their own, but they will contact employers, family members, news organizations and even the federal government about the alleged phony. In some cases the fraudsters' personal information along with a photo will be posted on the Web.
AuthentiSEAL.org, which investigates and reveals questionable Navy Seals, says it has exposed nearly 20,000 false ones since its launch in 2000 and currently receives about 20 to 50 inquiries per day; over 99.5% of the leads reveal an imposter, the group says. Inquirers range from a woman curious if her new boyfriend is a real Seal, to contractors in Iraq checking on a job applicant.
"As long as the military is held in high repute, people will co-opt it for their own personal gain," says former Navy Seal William S. "Moose" Robinson, author of the self-published "No Guts No Glory: Unmasking Navy SEAL Impostors."
Mr. Robinson, a 54-year-old blacksmith in Forsyth, Mo., served as a volunteer investigator for AuthentiSEAL.org, a nonprofit Web site that investigates and reveals phony Seals. "Falsely claiming to be a Seal is a direct insult to the veterans we've lost," he says.
According to Mr. Robinson a surge of phonies emerge every time Hollywood releases a big action movie about the military. This year's "The Pacifier" starring Vin Diesel as a disgraced Navy Seal turned babysitter inspired a handful of impostors, reports AuthentiSEAL.
The FBI's Mr. Cottone works with several Web sites and says they do good work. "The worst punishment for these guys is to be exposed," he says of the fakers.
Challenges to the authenticity of a medal -- or to the event that led to the award -- can have devastating consequences. Adm. Jeremy Boorda committed suicide in 1996 after Newsweek magazine inquired about two combat decorations that were allegedly unearned.
http://online.wsj.com/public/article/0,,SB111533986173926430-K_XMqM2Fe4Gn2S_wmni1njavo2k_20060505,00.html?mod=blogs
posted by Matthew LeFande 4:37 PM
matt@lefande.com
Student suspended over call from mom in Iraq
A Columbus Georgia high school student was suspended for 10 days for refusing to end a cell phone call with his mother, a soldier serving in Iraq, school officials said.
The 10-day suspension was issued because Kevin Francois was "defiant and disorderly" and was imposed in lieu of an arrest, Spencer High School assistant principal Alfred Parham said.
The confrontation Wednesday began after the 17-year-old junior got a call at lunchtime from his mother, Sgt. 1st Class Monique Bates, who left in January for a one-year tour with the 203rd Forward Support Battalion.
Cell phones are allowed on campus but may not be used during school hours. When a teacher told him to hang up, he refused. He said he told the teacher, "This is my mom in Iraq. I'm not about to hang up on my mom."
Parham said the teen's suspension was based on his reaction to the teacher's request. He said the teen used profanity when taken to the office.
"Kevin got defiant and disorderly," Parham said. "When a kid becomes out of control like that they can either be arrested or suspended for 10 days. Now being that his mother is in Iraq, we're not trying to cause her any undue hardship; he was suspended for 10 days."
http://www.cnn.com/2005/EDUCATION/05/06/call.suspension.ap/
posted by Matthew LeFande 4:32 PM
matt@lefande.com
Idaho Cities to Pay to Fix Bullet Holes
After officers fired 22 shots at a fleeing man without hitting him, Boise and Garden City police departments say they'll pay nearly $7,000 to repair bullet holes in homes that were hit during the wild confrontation.
According to insurance claims filed with both departments by residents, shots fired by four officers in pursuit of 39-year-old Harlan Hale hit doors, windows, window moldings, garage doors, an all-terrain-vehicle and a clothes dryer. No one was injured in the March 9 chase.
Garden City is a town of about 11,000 residents surrounded by the city of Boise.
The shots came as police tried to apprehend Hale, who had been the target of a manhunt after he was accused of shooting at two Boise police officers during a traffic stop on Feb. 28.
He was arrested March 9 less than a mile from the neighborhood. After a short car chase, Hale drove through a back yard and over a shed before crashing his car into an irrigation canal.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050505/ap_on_fe_st/flying_bullets
posted by Matthew LeFande 8:07 AM
matt@lefande.com
'Bring me the head of Bin Laden'
The CIA sent a team to Afghanistan days after 9/11 with orders to kill Osama Bin Laden and bring back his head, a former agent has revealed.
Gary Schroen flew out soon after the attacks on New York and Washington, helping to set up the 2001 invasion, he told National Public Radio.
He recalled his orders from the CIA's counter-terrorism chief.
"Capture Bin Laden, kill him and bring his head back in a box on dry ice," he quoted Cofer Black as saying.
As for other leaders of Bin Laden's al-Qaeda network in Afghanistan, Mr Black reportedly said: "I want their heads up on pikes."
Contacted by the radio network, Mr Black would not confirm that these were his exact words but he did not dispute Mr Schroen's account.
The agent told NPR he had been stunned that, for the first time in 30 years of service, he had received orders to kill targets rather then capture them.
But he says he replied: "Sir, those are the clearest orders I have ever received.
"I can certainly make pikes out in the field but I don't know what I'll do about dry ice to bring the head back - but we'll manage something."
Mr Schroen, 59 when the planes crashed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania, had just begun the CIA's retirement transition programme but he was asked to put it on hold two days after the attacks of 11 September 2001.
As a former station chief in both Kabul and Islamabad, he was considered to be ideally placed for the Afghan mission.
According to NPR, there was no doubt at CIA headquarters that the 9/11 attacks were the work of Bin Laden.
Mr Schroen was given a double brief, it reported: to liaise with anti-Taleban warlords on the ground as preparation for the overthrow of the regime, and to then assassinate Bin Laden and other top al-Qaeda figures.
The agency allowed Mr Schroen to pick his own six-man team and, exactly one week after 9/11, they were on a plane flying to the region, equipped with laptops, hand-held radios, instant coffee and $3m in $100 bills.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4511943.stm
posted by Matthew LeFande 8:20 AM
matt@lefande.com
Probation officer charged with DUI
The top probation officer in Kanawha County, West Virginia has been charged with driving under the influence, according to court documents.
John J. Myatt, 55, of St. Albans drove into a telephone pole on April 9, according to a report State Police Trooper J.L. Ennis wrote and filed in Kanawha County Magistrate Court.
Myatt was arrested a short time later, Ennis wrote, after police discovered he had a blood alcohol level of 0.219, more than twice the legal limit of 0.08.
Myatt declined to discuss the misdemeanor charge Sunday. His lawyer, Tom Smith of Charleston, did not respond to a phone message left at his house.
Ennis wrote that he charged Myatt with drunken driving after he spotted the probation officer walking away from the crash.
Myatt explained that he was looking for a phone to report the accident, Ennis wrote. Myatt also said that he crashed his Jeep while driving to church, according to Ennis’ report.
Ennis wrote that he became suspicious after he smelled alcohol on Myatt’s breath. Ennis said he arrested the probation officer after Myatt began “staggering severely.”
As of Friday, Myatt remained in his post as Kanawha County’s chief probation officer.
http://wvgazette.com/section/News/Other%20News/2005050113
posted by Matthew LeFande 10:03 AM
matt@lefande.com
