MSP Troopers Kill Gunman in Grand Rapids Strip Club
News from the Law Enforcement Community
Written by administrator administrator   
Thursday, 01 January 2009

The Grand Rapids Press is reporting that two MSP troopers were on a traffic stop outside the Lady Godiva club on Market SW in downtown Grand Rapids. Patrons of the club who ran outside when the shooting started yelled to the two Officers for help.

Once inside the bar they encountered the gunman, 29-year-old Chucky Lee Jackson, and a chase ensued with the gunman firing at the Officers before they were forced to return fire. Jackson was pursued out of the business and across a parking lot to Finney Ave SW, where he collapsed and died.

Witnesses from inside the club said that the altercation began with an "exchange of words" before Jackson brandished a pistol and began firing at another patron and a club employee who was attempting to break up the fight. 

The club employee was critically injured and the patron was listed in stable condition.

Read the whole story from the Grand Rapids PressImage

 
Oak Park Officer Laid to Rest; His Killer to be tried as Adult
News from the Law Enforcement Community
Written by administrator administrator   
Thursday, 01 January 2009

Memorial

Officer Mason Samborski was laid to rest on new year's eve with as many as 1300 mourners coming out to paying their respects to the 28 year old fallen Officer, friend, father, husband and hero. Coverage and pictures of the ceremony are available from the links below:

News

The details of the incident are still coming in as the investigation is ongoing, but what is known and has been released is that Officer Samborski stopped a car being driven by 16 year old suspect Jonathan Belton in Oak Park at about 12:30 a.m. on Sunday the 27th of December.

Officer Samborski discovered that Belton was unlicensed and had no insurance on the vehicle was driving, but he told Samborski that he had an adult relative living in some nearby apartments. Samborski drove Belton to the apartments and never had a chance to radio for help. Residents there called in to report shots having been fired and responding Officers found Belton dead of a gunshot wound to the head. They also found Belton and Officer Samborski's weapon missing.

Several police departments joined Oak Park police in searching for Belton most of Sunday before Belton turned himself in, accompanied by his father and pastor, at a police station in northwest Detroit about 4 p.m. Belton was charged Monday as a juvenile with open murder and possessing a firearm in the commission of a felony and is being held without bond. Oakland County Prosecutor Jessica Cooper said in a statement Thursday that she has authorized a warrant charging Jonathan Belton with first-degree murder. Prosecutors have also announced that Belton will be prosecuted as an adult in this case.

 
Roundup from Last Nights Meeting and 2009-2011 Contract
Union News
Written by Jeff Jones   
Wednesday, 31 December 2008

LogoSample.jpgIf you weren't there or haven't heard the meeting last night was successful and brief.

The 2009-2011 contract that was negotiated by our team was passed by both non-312 and 312 groups.

Additionally, there have been some changes to your executive board on the road side. Sean James and Jeremy Baum have stepped down from their positions and we give them huge thanks for their service over the years. The new 312 VP is Eric Deboer and you have two new 312 trustees, Greg "Road Patrol" Rotman and Chris Todd.

 

Matt also has a more in depth review of the action posted in the "Union Business" forums.

Thanks to Sean, Jeremy and our negotiating committee for their hard work. We should also thank the Sheriff, Al Vandenberg and Marie Waalkes for ushering in a new era of earnest negotiation. As always if you have any questions please feel free to email me, the board or any individual member with your thoughts, comments or concerns.

 
Sheriff uses Website to Crack Cold Cases
News from the Law Enforcement Community
Written by administrator administrator   
Monday, 22 December 2008

broward_county.JPGThe Broward County Sheriff's Office in Florida is taking a new and innovative approach to cold case crime and enlisting the help of the public to assist in these cases by placing information about the cases on a new section of their website called "Operation Found and Forgotten".

Each entry on the blog style page includes dates and basic information about each case as well as an image gallery of evidence and personal items collected from the scene. Each case has a link to send an anonymous tip to a "Silent Observer" like agency in Florida called "Crime Stoppers". operation found and forgotten

The idea is a great one that will not only help to bring witnesses forward that can help identify victims and killers, but helps to make sure those victims are remembered. 

To check out the website for yourself click here or to go Sheriff.org and click the link to "Operation Found and Forgotten" on the front page.

 
Troopers Vehicle Struck Twice on Snowy I-196
News from the Law Enforcement Community
Written by administrator administrator   
Monday, 22 December 2008
accident injures Michigan State Trooper

Michigan State Police Trooper Robert Metivier was injured yesterday after his vehicle was struck twice while he was helping stranded motorists along I-196 in Ottawa County.

Trooper Metivier was inside his vehicle when it was struck by an out of control driver and was pushed into traffic where it was struck again by another vehicle. The second vehicle left the scene.

Metivier was transported to North Ottawa Community Hospital with non-life threatening injuries and according to an article in the Grand Rapids Press he was listed there on Sunday in stable condition.

I would like to wish a speedy recovery to Trooper Metivier and a speedy apprehension to the driver of the second car that hit him. Trooper Metivier has been a great resource to us in the Holland area and is often around helping take calls and jumping in when we need a hand without being asked. Of course, the irony being that that is exactly what he was doing when his vehicle was struck.

 
Images from Greek Riots
News from the Law Enforcement Community
Written by Jeff Jones   
Sunday, 21 December 2008

riot_greece.jpgThe details of the original incident are still sketchy, but what we do know is that 15 year old Alexandros Grigoropoulos was shot and killed by a Greek Special Guard in Athens on the evening of December 6th following a clash between two Special Guardsman and a group of local youths.

We also know that almost immediately following this incident riots broke out across Athens and are still raging today with militant anarchist groups mixing with ordinary citizens to create havoc and destruction in Greek streets.

AP photographers have captured amazing images of the riots and aftermath which the Boston Globe has collected the best of. Click the link below to view the photos.

Click here for images from The Boston Globe

 
HDTV Buyer's Guide
Website News
Written by administrator administrator   
Sunday, 14 December 2008
flatscreen.jpg

I keep getting lots and lots of questions about HDTV and more specifically flat panel TV's as Christmas and the switch to digital tv approaches so I decided to put together a guide for everyone that ranges from quick and dirty to long and geeky. I will run through the quick answers and then provide links to more lengthy answers for those that want to read them.

It is definitely worthwhile to read for those of you looking to buy a big flat panel to proudly hang from your wall this year if only because there is so much misinformation out there surrounding these TV's. As you might imagine, much of that misinformation is driven by the TV manufacturers and stores that want to sell you the most expensive TV they can. So read on and show up to Best Buy informed and ready!

Hit the "Read More" link to learn all about it.

 
Man Charged with Spraying Vandals with....Urine
News from the Law Enforcement Community
Written by administrator administrator   
Saturday, 13 December 2008

That's right...Fifty-year-old Scott Wagar of Minnesota has had enough and during his town's recent homecoming celebration he took matters into his own smelly hands.

The problem began several years ago when Scott caught a group of Willmar High School students toilet papering his house and made them clean it up. Since then smearing Wagar's home with TP, peanut butter, eggs, ketchup, etc has become a Willmar homecoming tradition.

This year Scott decided to fight back with the help of some borrowed military grade night vision googles and a super soaker loaded with a 1:3 mix of fox pee and water.

Scott hunkered down and when a group of 15-20 teens approached his home and failed to heed his warning he let go with a super-soaker stream of smelly fox. One of the teens jumped on Wagar's back and Wagar was able to free himself by pulling one of the attackers fingers backwards.

Ultimately of course the local police were called to the scene and Wagar has since been charged with not only assault, but also disorderly conduct for his scuffle with the teen who jumped on his back.

 
Car Key jams Teen driver's Cell Phones
News from the Law Enforcement Community
Written by administrator administrator   
Saturday, 13 December 2008

Researchers at the University of Utah have devised a new key that will jam the cellphones of teen drivers which is a good idea as studies have shown that cell-taking driver's are as bad as drunks on the roads.

The device encloses the actual key and then connects with the teens cellular phone via bluetooth or RFID and blocks the phone from sending or receiving phone calls or text messages. However, calls to 911 will still work.

The device is expected to hit the market within six months and come with a $50 price tag.

Click here to read more details on this device.

 
Two Oregon Officers Killed in Bank Bomb Blast
News from the Law Enforcement Community
Written by administrator administrator   
Saturday, 13 December 2008
wells fargo bank

Authorities in Oregon have said that a second Officer has died after a bomb blast at a bank on Friday.

Police in Oregon originally responded to a Wells Fargo bank branch after employees there received a threatening phone call about a potential bomb.

A similar call came in later to the West Coast Bank branch next door where they found a suspicious package in the bushes outside. Police brought the package inside the building and were scanning it when it went off.

Senior Trooper William Hakim, a bomb squad technician with the Oregon State Police, and Capt. Tom Tennant of the Woodburn Police Department were killed in the blast.

Click here to read the article from the OregonLive.com

 
Kent County Non-Union Employees get 3% Raise
News from the Law Enforcement Community
Written by administrator administrator   
Saturday, 13 December 2008

kent logo.JPGThe Grand Rapids Press is reporting that non-union workers in Kent County will be receiving a 3% pay raise next year.

The Kent County Commission on Thursday set a budget allowing average 3 percent raises for about 300 non-union county workers, with some getting more and some less beginning next month.

Commissioners supporting the increase note it's comparable to contracts also approved Thursday with raises between 2 and 3 percent the next three years for employees including public health nurses and sergeants and lieutenants in the sheriff's department.

Human Resources Director Don Clack is quoted in the article as saying:

They (the increases) are part of a long-range compensation strategy that shouldn't be abandoned based on short-term economic conditions.

Click here to read the article from the Grand Rapids Press

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DialMyCalls.com Automates the old "Phone Tree" for Free
News from the Law Enforcement Community
Written by Jeff Jones   
Tuesday, 02 December 2008

Web service DialMyCalls sends mass telephone messages to a user-defined group. If you've ever been part of a phone tree that, for example, spreads word that your softball game has been called off, you can see how a service like DialMyCalls could come in handy. Rather than requiring you to place several calls to get information out to a large group, DialMyCalls lets you record a message and then send that message off to any size group (with a max limit of 25 people using their free service). DialMyCalls is impressively smart, too.

 

Click here to read more on the story from Lifehacker.com

Click here to head over to DialMyCalls.com and check it out

 
Psycho with a Knife!
General Training
Written by Jeff Jones   
Tuesday, 25 November 2008

Defensive Tactics Instructor Richard Nance has an article up at Officer.com that should make us all think about our response to edged weapon attacks and how drawing your duty weapon is sometimes not an option.

The article goes through the basics of meeting and surviving these types of attacks and is a great refresher for all of us.

 

Click here to read the article from Officer.comImage

 
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