Tag: police

Justice, Society

Giving Thanks: Buy Coffee or Lunch For A Police Officer This Year

By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

I thought I would make a suggestion for those who wish to pay forward a debt of gratitude we might owe our local police officers for what has been a very difficult few years. Maybe each of you might consider for even once in 2021 anonymously paying for coffee or a lunch for a police officer who serves your community. It might be a few dollars, but I can assure you it will make their shift just a bit more enjoyable–that someone cared and was grateful.

Continue reading “Giving Thanks: Buy Coffee or Lunch For A Police Officer This Year” →

Justice

WA Police Recruit Steps Up To The Plate, And Inspires

By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

In my travels I happened along a small act of community caretaking that brought a smile to the both of us. It was not so much what was done for a motorist with a disabled vehicle, but the degree of enthusiasm and resolve shown by a young police recruit in stepping up to the plate for a citizen in need that I found inspirational. So here’s a “hats off” to her and the WA Criminal Justice Training Commission for fostering such spirit.

Continue reading “WA Police Recruit Steps Up To The Plate, And Inspires” →

Environment, Science, Society

A Leading Cause of NYPD Officer Deaths Is 9-11 Related Illnesses

By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

215px-NypdpatchThe 9/11 terrorist attack on New York City continues to affect the lives of many, especially those first responders who dared the situation and served with courage and Honor.

The tragedy manifests in manners that are beyond the emotional scars that might remain with individuals. The health effects to the body may persist for many more years. Inhaling of and exposure to toxins and carcinogens in their various forms continue to haunt the New York Police Department and other agencies more than a decade later.

According to the Officer Down Memorial Page, a website devoted to memorializing the line-of-duty deaths of all law enforcement officers serving in the United States and its territories, 9/11 related illnesses are the second leading cause of death among officers of the New York Police Department. This encompasses over two hundred years of records for each of the various single categories.

Continue reading “A Leading Cause of NYPD Officer Deaths Is 9-11 Related Illnesses” →

Bizarre, Criminal law

Police Arrest Ten For Allegedly Burglarizing Sick Woman’s Residence Eight Times

By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

everett-logoPolice in Everett, Washington made multiple arrests after a social medial linked crime spree at an elderly woman’s home while she was out of state seeking treatment for emphysema and heart disease.

Thieves waited after each other to burglarize the residence then pilfered and ransacked the house retrieving whatever remained. But police soon discovered the game and offered their response in kind.

Continue reading “Police Arrest Ten For Allegedly Burglarizing Sick Woman’s Residence Eight Times” →

Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Free Speech, Justice, Lawyering, Media, Military, Politics, Religion, Society

Wonder Why The Folks In Ferguson Are Up In Arms About Their Police? Meet Sgt. Major Dan Page, St. Louis Co. P.D.

By Mark Esposito, Weekend Contributor

Watching the waves roll in here in Duck, NC, I have to admit things seem pretty peaceful and serene. It got me wondering why the folks in Ferguson, Mo. are demonstrating on a daily basis about their policing. Wonderment stopped last evening when I came across this video by 35-year veteran of the St. Louis County Police Department, Sgt. Major Dan Page.  Former Green Beret and supervising cop, Dan’s vaguely known to most  CNN viewers as the enlightened peace officer who shoved reporter Don Lemon from a Ferguson street corner as he tried reporting on the mass protest of 17-year-old Michael Brown’s police-facilitated killing. Lemon was shoved and then was herded to some “Free Speech Zone” in a remote parking lot. Now street-savvy Page is back … and with a right-wing philosophy and blood thirsty vengeance that you’d have to go to 1970s Cambodia to match — “We can kill you anyway we want!”

Continue reading “Wonder Why The Folks In Ferguson Are Up In Arms About Their Police? Meet Sgt. Major Dan Page, St. Louis Co. P.D.” →

Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Free Speech, Justice

Police Department Sued Over Alleged Harassment Of Citizen Posting Speed Trap Warning

By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

Speed Trap Warning SignAn Oklahoma citizen took his small town’s police department to federal court, claiming police clamped down on him when he put a sign on the curb warning of a speed trap ahead.

James Goad, of Meeker, Oklahoma, says the harassment that followed his action amounted to a violation of his First Amendment right to freedom of speech. In the suit against the Meeker Police Department and Police Chief Sam Byrd, Goad claims police arrested him and violated his civil rights to get back at him for his sign stunt.

“Mr. Goad was exercising his constitutional right to free speech when he posted the speed trap warning sign on the property,” Goad’s attorney, Jack Dawson, wrote.

Continue reading “Police Department Sued Over Alleged Harassment Of Citizen Posting Speed Trap Warning” →

Criminal law, Justice, Lawyering, Society, Torts, Uncategorized

Hawthorne, CA Police in the News Again: Taser and Beat Deaf Man Into Unconsciousness

by Charlton Stanley, Weekend Contributor

Hawthorne CA Police DepartmentThe Hawthorne, CA Police Department has a history of assaultive behavior toward the public. The department’s activities have been reported on this blog before. In one incident, Hawthorne officers Tasered an autistic child, then when his parents complained, they returned and arrested him a week later.  Last year, the same Hawthorne Police arrested a man for videotaping them in a public space, then shot his dog when it ran to his side.

About a year ago, Jonathan Meister, a deaf man, was loading his car with some personal belongings, including his snowboarding equipment.  There had been several robberies in the area recently.  A neighbor yelled at him, but Meister, being deaf, did not hear the call-out, so the neighbor called the police.  When the police arrived, the officers watched Meister as he carried some items into his car. When Meister saw the officers, he sat his boxes down and walked toward them, trying to use American Sign Language to let them know he is deaf.

Continue reading “Hawthorne, CA Police in the News Again: Taser and Beat Deaf Man Into Unconsciousness” →