Monthly Archives: September 2013

Newtown approves gun ordinance restricting recreational shooting

"'No resident may shoot for more than four hours after police are notified and shooting is limited to one person at a time,' the ordinance states as reported by NewsTimes.com. 'Target backstops are required and must be 10 feet above the target,' the ordinance continues. Lastly, there is no shooting allowed within a half-mile of a school. The ordinance only affects recreational shooting. Hunters, military professionals and law enforcement are exempt. Also, gun salutes for memorial events and tributes are not affected by the ordinance." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNewtown approves gun ordinance restricting recreational shooting

Police captain, chief, firefighter all sexually assault same teenage girl

"Old Forge Mayor Michele Avvisato confirmed police Capt. Jamie Krenitsky submitted a letter of resignation Friday morning. She declined to comment further, citing pending litigation against the borough. Police charged Mr. Krenitsky and Old Forge Police Chief Larry Semenza with sexually assaulting the same teenage girl around the same period of time. In 2004, the girl, then a 15-year-old junior firefighter, began a sexual relationship with Chief Semenza, also then a Fire Department captain. The relationship lasted until 2007. Former borough firefighter Walter Chiavacci, also accused of sexually assaulting the girl, pleaded guilty to indecent assault in December." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPolice captain, chief, firefighter all sexually assault same teenage girl

Tallahassee police ‘stand by’ arrest practices that broke woman’s face

"Attorney Fred Conrad told the Tallahassee Democrat that he planned to sue the Tallahassee Police Department on behalf of 44-year-old Christina West after he reviewed dashcam video of officers breaking the orbital bone in her face and causing other injuries. West is placed in a patrol car, but she is later asked to get out of the car. A struggle occurs while the woman is asking her about her husband and a car seat for her child, and the two officers slam her head into the cruiser. And then the two men force her to the ground with their full weight, causing her to scream in agony as her face is smashed on the pavement. West has already had two surgeries as a result of her injuries." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTallahassee police ‘stand by’ arrest practices that broke woman’s face

Florida man attacked, arrested for ‘walking on wrong side of the road’

"A Florida man is suing the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office over a violent arrest in December 2012 that the officer was not able to defend in court. First Coast News reported on Monday that Bobby Wingate was cited by an officer for 'walking down the wrong side of the road' during the stop, then punched in the face. When the officer pulled out his Tazer, Wingate called 911 to protect himself. Wingate was arrested, charged with resisting arrest without violence and walking down the wrong side of the road and brought to trial. But in court, the officer testified he was not sure what side of the road Wingate was on, prompting the judge to dismiss the case." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFlorida man attacked, arrested for ‘walking on wrong side of the road’

Questions persist after Ark. SWAT team fatally shoots 107-year-old man

"When the time came to move 107-year-old Monroe Isadore to a new home, police say he resisted and barricaded himself inside. Authorities tried using a camera to monitor him, along with negotiating tactics, and finally gas to get him to come out. So, a SWAT team went inside and was greeted by gunfire, authorities say. The team fired back, and Isadore died. The weekend confrontation raised a flurry of questions Monday as residents struggled to make sense of how someone known as a pleasant, churchgoing man who was hard of hearing and sometimes carried a cane had died in an explosive confrontation." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingQuestions persist after Ark. SWAT team fatally shoots 107-year-old man

New Orleans Cop Gets Four Years For Fatal Drug Raid Shooting

"On March 7 of last year, Colclough was among a group of officers who raided her home on Prentiss Street in Gentilly, looking for evidence of drug dealing. As they marched up the stairs, 20-year-old Wendell Allen appeared at the top of the staircase. He was shirtless, wearing only pants and a pair of sneakers. He had nothing in his hands, Orleans Parish District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro said Friday. He was unarmed. But Colclough fired his weapon once. The bullet tore through Allen’s chest, into his heart and his lungs. He fell on the landing and died within seconds." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNew Orleans Cop Gets Four Years For Fatal Drug Raid Shooting

Is it time to get rid of the DEA?

"There is no doubt the agency should be reformed. It is also worth asking if it should continue to exist. According to a Reuters investigation, the DEA has been gathering information from other agencies, as well as foreign governments, for years. The DEA has also been collecting its own arsenal of data; constructing a massive database with about 1 billion records. This information is shared in secret. By hiding the origins of its data from defense attorneys, prosecutors and judges, the agency and its partners effectively are undermining the right of the people it targets to a fair trial." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIs it time to get rid of the DEA?

Drug-Sniffing Dogs Pose a Problem in States That Legalized Marijuana

"Police in Tacoma, Wash., aren’t ready to retire their four-footed marijuana sniffers. 'There are several instances where marijuana is still illegal,' says officer Loretta Cool. 'If you are under 21, you cannot possess marijuana. If you have more than an ounce, it’s illegal.' But half an hour north in Seattle, police have stopped teaching drug dogs to recognize pot. 'There’s constant training to make sure their sniffers are up to snuff, where we use real drugs from evidence and a dog is rewarded for sniffing it out,' says Sergeant Sean Whitcomb, a spokesman for the Seattle Police Department. 'Marijuana is not something they are training on—that skill is no longer being reinforced.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDrug-Sniffing Dogs Pose a Problem in States That Legalized Marijuana

Prison Phone Call Industry Will Fight New FCC Rules Lowering Inmate Rates

"After a decade of delay, the FCC voted 2-1 in August to set maximum rates for collect and prison debit card calls. The new maximum rate for a collect call will be 25 cents a minute -- still far above the average for a traditional landline, but a serious reduction. In an interview with The Huffington Post, the CEO of the second-largest company in the $1.2 billion a year industry said he will go to court to stop the still-unreleased rules if they are issued as described in an FCC press release. He also lashed out at the industry's critics. After a decade-long period of consolidation and mergers in the industry, Securus and another company, Global-Tel-Link, control 80 percent of the prison phone call market." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPrison Phone Call Industry Will Fight New FCC Rules Lowering Inmate Rates

Private Plane Pilots Face Warrantless Drug Searches

"Private plane pilots, especially those traveling to or through states with relaxed marijuana laws, are being subjected to warrantless searches by state and federal law enforcement, the Toledo Blade reported Monday. 'None of the stops resulted in anything being found,' said Steve Hedges, a spokesman for the owners and pilots association. 'In most cases, the pilots were stopped and held while their planes were searched… I'm told one pilot was asleep in a motel room with his wife when agents kicked the door down and took them back out to the airport to search his plane, only to find nothing there.' The pilots' group has filed Freedom of Information Act requests for documentation justifying the searches." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPrivate Plane Pilots Face Warrantless Drug Searches