Website and automated forms processes, Copyright
2007, Matthew August LeFande.
All
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
Shaq Chases Alleged Hit-And-Run Driver
Shaquille O'Neal put his police skills to use early Sunday. O'Neal, the Miami Heat's All-Star center and a reserve officer with the Miami Beach Police Department, followed a driver who allegedly crashed into his Cadillac Escalade and tried to flee the scene, the team said.
O'Neal and bodyguard Jerome Crawford followed the driver for about five minutes. When the driver, identified by The Miami Herald as 18- year-old Emmnueo Cibrin of Tampa, stopped near a gas station, O'Neal approached the car and summoned a nearby police officer.
Police did not release an incident report Sunday night. Miami-Dade Corrections officials said they had no record of anyone by Cibrin's name being booked on a criminal charge, and it was unclear if he was ticketed for any moving violations.
The incident happened around 4 a.m., shortly after the Heat got home from a Saturday game in Chicago. O'Neal was helping Crawford, a team security official, unload luggage outside Crawford's home in Miami's Coconut Grove neighborhood when the accident occurred.
O'Neal, through the team, said Sunday night that he followed proper police protocol during the chase, including pursuing at a safe distance and speed. He contacted police officers along the way, he said.
O'Neal was sworn in as a reserve officer in 2005. He has long said he intends to pursue a career in law enforcement when he retires from basketball.
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2007/01/28/D8MUMQ0G0.html
posted by Matthew LeFande 11:01 PM
matt@lefande.com
Police issued slingshots as their weapons are inspected
The police department in Tijuana, Mexico has issued about 60 slingshots to officers in the violent border city of Tijuana, where soldiers confiscated police weapons two weeks ago on allegations of collusion with drug traffickers.
Municipal police spokesman Fernando Bojorquez said Monday that the slingshots, along with bags of ballbearings, were given to officers patrolling areas of the city visited by tourists.
Tijuana's police force of 2,000 officers has been without guns since Jan. 5, but some patrol alongside armed state police.
President Felipe Calderon sent 3,300 soldiers and federal police to Tijuana at the beginning of January to hunt down drug gangs. The soldiers swept police stations and took officers' guns for inspection amid allegations by federal investigators that a corrupt network of officers supports smugglers who traffic drugs into the U.S. The weapons are still being checked.
About 100 police demonstrated outside Tijuana town hall on Monday demanding the return of their guns. "The arms are our tools for work," said officer Juan Manuel Nieves. "Do they want more police to be killed?"
More than 300 people were slain in Tijuana last year including 13 police officers.
http://chron.com/disp/story.mpl/bizarre/4490731.html
posted by Matthew LeFande 10:37 AM
matt@lefande.com
Muslim woman officer refuses to shake hands with the Metropolitan police chief on religious grounds
It happened when Sir Ian Blair inspected 200 recruits at a passing out parade.
The Met says the officer puts the job's requirements above her personal beliefs, which she only exercises where there is a choice.
"Any refusal to engage in this manner would not be tolerated by the Metropolitan Police Service," it added.
It said the officer's request not to shake her boss's hand was only granted "out of a desire to minimise any disruption to others' enjoyment, and to ensure the smooth running of what is one of the most important events in an officer's career."
The commissioner questioned the validity of the request, and the matter is being looked into by the MPS, it said, adding that an officer's probationary period is designed specifically to ensure that "they undertake the role as required".
If this does not occur the officer may be required to leave the Service as any variation on this will not be tolerated.
The woman had said it was contrary to her religious teaching to touch a man, the Mail on Sunday reported.
The woman, who wore a uniform hijab, also refused to be pictured with Sir Ian at the event on 21 December as she did not want a photo used for "propaganda purposes", the paper said.
The incident took place at Imber Court, the Metropolitan Police Service's sports and conference centre at Thames Ditton, south-west London.
The Mail on Sunday said the Pc, described as a "non Asian Muslim", was among recruits who had competed 18 weeks of basic training.
Several Muslim groups have defended the officer's actions and insisted it would not affect how she carried out her job.
Massoud Shadjareh, chairman of the Islamic Human Rights Commission, said the "overwhelming majority" of practising Muslims would avoid physical contact with members of the opposite sex.
"Muslims do not physically touch members of the opposite sex unless they are married or very closely related - for example, brother and sister or uncle and niece," he said.
"This is not a sign of disrespect or anything."
He added that those employed in jobs such as police officers or doctors would not have a problem with touching people in order to fulfil their duties.
"I actually think the only problem is when there is cultural and religious ignorance and misunderstanding," he said.
and http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6284231.stm
posted by Matthew LeFande 7:10 PM
matt@lefande.com
Radzilowski: Officer didn't use "common sense"
No police officer with any common sense would have dragged a homeless person's shopping cart 12 miles while driving, risking personal injury and posing a danger to other motorists, the Bradenton police chief said Tuesday.
Officer Nicholas Evans, who lugged the woman's cart and its load to the Manatee County Jail after arresting her last week, has won praise for his apparent compassion. He was behind the wheel of his patrol car as he pulled the cart from east Bradenton to the jail north on U.S. 41.
But police administrators question Evans' motive and why he didn't choose any number of options to safeguard the belongings of the woman, Marie Brooks, who was wanted for violating a court order in a misdemeanor drug case.
"Thank God a drunk person didn't run into him and tear his arm off," Police Chief Michael Radzilowski said. "Nobody would have approved this and nobody else would have done it. I don't know what this young man's motivation was."
Radzilowski said a police captain is investigating whether Evans took the cart to the jail because he did not like the advice of a supervisor. If Evans acted in spite, the chief said, he likely would be written up for insubordination.
Every officer is trained to handle property, Radzilowski said. Evans could have requested a city van to collect the items that included clothing, plastic plates and a blanket. The police station has a property department where items could have been stored temporarily.
Brooks was toting around cooked food, too, but the jail does not accept perishable items. Evans, the chief said, should have thrown the food out before delivering Brooks to the jail.
The saga of the shopping cart, first reported in the Herald-Tribune on Monday, swiftly traveled the country. Radzilowski said he fielded a number of phone calls from homeless advocates who praised Evans.
"Officer Evans obviously has a heart and it showed that night. My hat's off to that officer," a retired police officer who lives in Venice wrote to the Herald-Tribune.
Said Radzilowski: "He did his job. That's his duty. Whether you are a millionaire or you are homeless, (the officer) is responsible for the person's property."
Evans, 26, a Bradenton officer for three years who works the overnight shift, could not be reached for comment Tuesday. He declined an interview request Monday night.
He confronted Brooks, 42, last Tuesday and questioned her in the 900 block of Ninth Avenue East. Evans found out Brooks, homeless for three years, had a warrant.
One of the woman's daughters, who lives in Sarasota, could not get a ride to retrieve the cart and its load.
So Evans dragged the four-wheeler to a house on 13th Avenue East. The homeowner, who knew Brooks, refused to accept the items.
"If I have to take it to the jail with me, I will," Evans told a police dispatcher over the radio that morning.
Evans stopped at 7-Eleven in Palmetto, where a woman who said she would take the stuff met him. She then withdrew her offer.
His trip to the jail took more than an hour. Evans returned the cart, empty, to a Wal-Mart store.
http://heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070117/NEWS/701170303
posted by Matthew LeFande 5:45 PM
matt@lefande.com
Naked officer returned to job
A judge has overturned the conviction of an Edison, NJ policeman who ran naked from his car after an accident, and the judge also ordered the officer reinstated in his job.
Superior Court Judge Melvin Gelade took those actions in overturning the Dunellen Municipal Court conviction of Ionnis Mpletkakis.
On June 15, Municipal Judge John Leonard convicted Mpletsakis, 26, of hindering his own apprehension. Leonard also found the officer not guilty of assault by auto and leaving the scene of an accident in connection with the July 20, 2005, crash.
Mpletsakis said he drove naked to avoid ruining his car seats because he had been swimming in a pool and in the Raritan Bay earlier that day. He said he fled the scene to conceal his nudity.
He was found hiding behind a car about 300 feet away by a colleague, driven home to get clothing, and returned to the scene. He was not issued any summons that night.
Three officers who returned to the accident scene were disciplined by the department.
Leonard ordered Mpletsakis, who was off duty at the time of the accident, to forfeit his $72,097-a-year job as an Edison patrol officer and pay fines totaling $655.
But Gelade Wednesday upheld the officer's appeal, ordered his reinstatement, and directed the township to return the money he had already paid for the fines, according to Darren M. Gelber, the attorney who successfully appealed the municipal conviction.
However, Mpletsakis is still facing departmental charges in connection with the accident, and Edison Police Chief George Mieczkowski said he expects the township to proceed with the case.
Mieczkowski, who chose not to comment on the judge's decision, said, "We are still sorting things out right now."
Gelber said he applying to the department for Mpletsakis's immediate reinstatement and for the pay he has lost since he was suspended immediately following the accident.
Mieczkowski said the resolution of those issues is uncertain.
Gelber said his client, whose trial was moved from Edison to Dunellen to avoid a conflict of interest, was "elated" with the ruling. He maintained that he provided the court with a truthful account and description of the accident. "Today's decision," Gelber said, "has vindicated him."
In convicting Mpletsakis, Leonard said, "He knew he was in a big mess. He knew he had to misstate his speed," referring to the officer's claim that he was driving about 35 to 40 mph the night of the crash.
"He lied," Leonard said.
Gelber said that by reversing the conviction, Gelade decided Mpletsakis's testimony was truthful.
Mpletsakis crashed his BMW into a box truck on Route 27 near Talmadge Road. A passenger in the truck was injured.
Mpletsakis testified that a third car struck his car, pushing it into the truck. Mpletsakis could not describe the car that struck his, and none of the witnesses testified to seeing a third vehicle.
Assistant Prosecutor Brian Gillet, who prosecuted the case in municipal court, maintained there was no third vehicle.
Reacting to Gelade's ruling, Gillet said, "He just did not think we proved the elements of the case. We disagree.
"The case is over," he said. "We have no recourse, no right to appeal."
http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070104/NEWS01/70104003/1006
posted by Matthew LeFande 7:10 PM
matt@lefande.com
