[sunnykerr]

Man Imprisoned Daughter For 24 Years - Raped and Fathered Several Children with Her
Bosnia war crime suspect Karadzic arrested

Banner by 4N6 DNA

[sunnykerr]

Smuggler With Broken Leg Wears Cocaine Cast MADRID, Spain (CNN) -- Spanish police arrested a man arriving at Barcelona's airport from Chile after determining that the cast on his fractured left leg was made of cocaine, the Interior Ministry said in a statement Friday. The 66-year-old Chilean man had an actual fracture of two bones below the knee, but the police suspect that he, or accomplices, may have intentionally fractured it, so that the cocaine cast could be applied. The plan, police say, was to get past police controls because of the leg cast, meant to elicit sympathy, but also to have a real fracture in case police decided to X-ray it. Police were scrutinizing passengers arriving on the flight late Wednesday from the Chilean capital, Santiago, when they became suspicious of the man. They quickly discovered cocaine hidden in his luggage, in a six-pack of beer and also in the aluminum legs of two stools he was transporting. Then they applied a substance to the cast, which showed that it was made of cocaine, the statement said. In all, police said they seized 4.8 kilograms (10.5 lb) of cocaine. The suspect, identified only by his initials J.S.P.F., was taken to hospital to have his leg properly treated. He remains there, under police guard, a police spokesman told CNN.

Smuggler with broken leg wears cocaine cast - CNN.com

This man gets points for originality, I have to say. On the other hand, he also gets major demerits for sheer stupidity. Not that I would necessarily want my cocaine traffickers to be smarter, but if you're gonna go through the trouble of making a cocaine cast... don't carry cocaine and beer in your luggage!!!!

[sunnykerr]

Florida Teen Accused of Videotaped Beating of Cheerleader Gets 3 Years Probation BARTOW, Florida — One of five teenage suspects in the videotaped beating of a central Florida classmate has been sentenced to three years probation. Mercades Nichols was sentenced Friday. She pleaded guilty to misdemeanor battery in January. Nichols also was ordered to do 100 hours of community service, write a letter of apology to the victim and pay restitution. In exchange for her guilty plea, prosecutors dropped charges of felony kidnapping and witness tampering. Four other teen girls were also arrested last April in connection with the attack that was recorded on video and broadcast around the world. Another participant, Brittany Mayes, was sentenced Thursday to a year's probation. The other teens will be sentenced later this month.

FOXNews.com - Florida Teen Accused of Videotaped Beating of Cheerleader Gets 3 Years Probation - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News

Given the age of the abusers in this case, I do think this was a good judgement. This way, she's given the opportunity to learn from her mistake, whereas an actual jail sentence would have only introduced her to hardened criminals and really only thought her to follow that sort of poor example. Moreover, I think probation is a good incentive for to learn from her experience and a good guarantee that there will be harsher consequences should she repeat her error. Finally, I think community service should be a require for all teenagers period (allowing them to learn about the world a little) but especially for those who clearly have way too much time on their hands.

[sunnykerr]

'Fight Club' Probed at Home for Disabled Seven employees suspended at state-run school in Texas; charges expected CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - Seven employees of a state-run home for the mentally disabled in Texas have been suspended for staging fights between residents who were forced to shove, punch and strike each other, authorities said Tuesday. Police learned of the fights when someone gave a cell phone containing videos of the brawls at the Corpus Christi State School to an off-duty officer on Friday, police Captain Tim Wilson said by phone from Corpus Christi, in the southern part of the state. "Workers were running their own fight club using clients. It's pretty appalling that someone would think of this," he said. In the videos, which show several fights dating back to 2007, mentally disabled male residents can be seen fighting each other while the employees watch. In one video, a disabled resident raises his hands in victory after a bout, Wilson said. "It's pretty appalling. I've been in police work over 30 years and I've never anything like this," he said. "These people who were charged with caring for these clients were exploiting them for entertainment." Charges expected Police expect to file charges later this week, said Wilson. Most of the employees seen in the videos have been identified, he said. Laura Albrecht, a spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services, which oversees the institutions known as state schools, said the videos show seven current and four former employees. The current employees have been placed on emergency leave pending the investigation. "Any abuse or neglect of residents placed in our care will not be tolerated," said Albrecht. These are the latest in a spate of abuse allegations against state school employees in recent years. A 2008 federal report cited 53 deaths linked to preventable conditions at the institutions. The report also called hundreds of reports of abuse and injuries to patients "disturbingly high."

'Fight club' probed at home for disabled - Crime & courts- msnbc.com

I read this and was profoundly appalled. The thought that anyone would see the anyone in any way disabled as fodder for their entertainment is beyond despicable. All the more so because they used the access given to them by the public trust. I don't know what the fullest extent of the law is with regards to crimes of this sort, but I sure hope they are prosecuted to that extent.

[sunnykerr]

So, we all heard about the rampage in Alabama, and we've also probably all heard about the deput sheriff whose wife and child were murdered on that day. I read this stoy at CNN.com and I found it quite touching:

As Gunman Roamed Streets, Neighbor Rushed to Save Infant SAMSON, Alabama (CNN) -- Alina Knowles anxiously crept along her neighbor's porch, where the bodies lay strewn on the blood-covered floor. And then she heard the baby's wail. The infant was covered in blood, but she was crying. "I'm glad she was crying -- I knew she was alive," Knowles told CNN Wednesday, just a day after her neighbors were gunned down in the middle of a shooting spree over two south Alabama towns. "There was blood everywhere, I couldn't tell where the bleeding was coming from," said Knowles, a certified nurse's assistant. "Her mother's blood was on her." Just minutes before, Knowles had heard the rapid fire of gunshots from her home next door in the Samson neighborhood as 28-year-old Michael McLendon methodically shot dead five people, including two children, on the front porch of his uncle's home on West Pullum Street. Among the dead were the wife and and toddler of Geneva County Sheriff's Deputy Josh Myers. Knowles scooped up Myers' crying 3-month-old daughter and ducked behind a minivan as McLendon cruised down an adjacent street, still firing at people. McLendon was "very workmanlike, like he was on a mission," Knowles said. "It really sounded like you were in a war zone." The 28-year-old gunman would kill three more people, including his 74-year-old grandmother, before heading to Geneva, where he would ultimately take his own life in a standoff with police. Eleven people died in the rampage, which lasted less than an hour and started with the killing of his mother in neighboring Coffee County. Knowles cleaned off the baby as she anxiously awaited an ambulance and authorities. She found a wound on the baby's leg. "I was crying the whole time," she said, recalling that she scurried to a neighbor's brick home where she felt safe amid all the gunfire. A mother of two, Knowles has since spoken to deputy Myers, who was involved in the shootout at the Reliable Metal Products plant a few miles away in Geneva before he even realized his wife, Andrea, and 1 1/2-year-old daughter, Corinne Gracy, were among McLendon's victims. "He thanked me 'for saving my baby girl,' " Knowles said, dismissing any notion of being a hero. Myers would have done the same for her, she said. A day after Tuesday's shootings, Myers stood in front of his home, across the street from the house where his family members were killed, and spoke to reporters. "It's supposed to be me out here getting shot, not my family," Myers said, speaking barely above a whisper. Meanwhile, Knowles is haunted by the scene on the porch and misses her neighbors, whom she considered friends. "All I can see is faces," she said. "It's going to take a while to shake that."

I thought that, regardless of what she says, Ms Knowles is a total hero. To risk her life in that way to save a child? I find that, in this whole mess, that is a thing of true beauty and grace.

[sunnykerr]

'70s Radical Sara Jane Olson To Be Released From Prison (CNN) -- Jon Opsahl said he doesn't think domestic-terrorist-turned-housewife Sara Jane Olson served nearly enough time for his mother's murder, but he'll be relieved when the saga is over Tuesday. Her sentence stems from her involvement in the 1975 attempted bombings of two police cars and the slaying of Myrna Opsahl during a bank robbery that same year. Back then, Olson went by her birth name, Kathleen Anne Soliah. After her 1976 indictment in the attempted bombings, she changed her name and started a new life in St. Paul, Minnesota. She was not apprehended until 1999. "I've really got nothing to say. She did her time, as minimal as that may have been," said Jon Opsahl, who was 15 when his mother was killed. "One of those years -- just one -- was for the murder of my mom and the bank robbery up in Carmichael." Myrna Opsahl, a mother of four, was depositing money at the Crocker National Bank for her church when she was shot by Olson's co-defendant Emily Harris, according to court documents. Jon Opsahl, now 49, said he never understood why it took so long to bring his mother's killers to justice. While charges were filed in the bombings within months, no charges were brought in his mother's murder until 2002. "You expect thugs to do what thugs do, but you don't expect the district attorney to turn a blind eye to the murder of an upstanding citizen," Jon Opsahl said Monday. Olson's release Tuesday will cap an oft-strange storyline that spans more than three decades and which saw Olson wear the hats of college student, 1970s radical, housewife and philanthropist. Attorney Andy Dawkins met Olson, now 62, shortly after she moved to St. Paul through friends in the reggae band, Pressure Drop. Fred Peterson, Olson's husband, played trumpet in the band, Dawkins said. "She did good deeds everywhere. She raised three wonderful daughters. It was always a shock to all of us that the Sara we know had that past," Dawkins said. After attending the University of California, Santa Barbara, Olson moved to Berkeley in the early 1970s. There, she met Angela Atwood in 1972, and the two became best friends and roommates, Olson told L.A. Weekly in a 2002 interview shortly before she was imprisoned. After Atwood and five other SLA members were killed in a 1974 gunfight with the Los Angeles Police Department, Olson appeared at a memorial in Berkeley's Ho Chi Minh Park to eulogize her friend. "SLA soldiers, although I know it's not necessary to say, keep fighting. I'm with you, and we are with you," Olson told the crowd. Almost a year later, Olson took part in two bank robberies to help fund the SLA, according to court documents. During the Carmichael robbery, Olson "entered the bank with a firearm and kicked a nonresisting pregnant teller in the stomach. The teller miscarried after the robbery," the documents said. In August 1975, Los Angeles police found homemade bombs under two squad cars. They were designed to explode when the car moved, but neither device detonated. Authorities cast the attempted bombings as payback for the bloody shootout that left Atwood and other SLA members dead. A probe into the gunbattle helped police arrest Hearst, the granddaughter of publishing mogul William Randolph Hearst, who claimed she had been kidnapped, raped and brainwashed by the SLA. In her book "Every Secret Thing," Hearst put Olson at the center of the Carmichael robbery. Olson soon left California. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, "she evaded capture for 23 years, and in the meantime, became a doctor's wife, mother of three, community volunteer, veteran of charity work in Africa and practicing Methodist living in an upscale neighborhood in St. Paul." Though authorities said a 1999 "America's Most Wanted" episode marking the 25th anniversary of the L.A. shootout led to Olson's arrest, the show's Web site mentions neither Olson nor Soliah among its almost 1,100 "captures." Her Minnesota friends and neighbors were shocked, even incredulous, when she was arrested. They pleaded with a judge to grant her bail. The Sara Olson Defense Fund began selling cookbooks, titled, "Serving Time: America's Most Wanted Recipes." It would help that Olson was generous with her time. She was active in the church. She volunteered for political campaigns. Dawkins said he had a blind client to whom she used to read The New York Times. Olson's philanthropy, coupled with the connections of her husband, a respected emergency room doctor, made raising the $1 million bail relatively easy, said Dawkins, who remembers that some members of the community had so much faith in Olson they put up their children's college funds. On October 31, 2001, Olson pleaded guilty to two counts of attempting to ignite a destructive device or explosive. She later tried to rescind the plea, saying "cowardice" prevented her from telling the truth. A superior court judge, however, denied her request and in January 2002 sentenced her to 20 years to life in prison, a sentence the parole board later reduced. Olson was charged with Opsahl's slaying that same week and pleaded guilty in 2003 to second-degree murder. Olson received a sentence of five years to life. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said in a statement that Olson's sentence was reduced for good behavior and for her work on a maintenance crew that cleaned the main yard of the Central California Women's Facility in Chowchilla. Dawkins said "it's right" that Olson served time, but he is glad she is being released. He expects many hugs await her in St. Paul and that she will soon be back to her generous ways. "I really believe who we knew in St. Paul was the true Sara Olson," he said. The Los Angeles Police Protection League disagrees and has loudly opposed her early release. Sgt. Paul Weber, the league's chief, called her a sociopath who "never said she was sorry." He also lashed out at those who rush to defend her. "Enough with the BS that she was unfairly targeted by law enforcement for her youthful indiscretions -- she is a criminal," Weber said in a Monday statement. The St. Paul Police Federation has written Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to voice opposition to her serving her parole outside California. "Letting a domestic terrorist like Kathleen Soliah set the terms of her parole is an insult to the memory of Myrna Opsahl and all the men and women of LAPD past and present," the Wednesday letter said. Jon Opsahl, however, just wants to put Olson out of his mind. "Get her out of here," he said. "I don't want to see or think about her again."

'70s radical Sara Jane Olson released from prison - CNN.com

What does everyone think about this?

I'm of two minds myself. On the one hand, I believe very strongly on people facing the full consequences of their actions. And I'm not entirely sure this is what's happening here.

Than again, in a way, you could argue that she made reparations in the intervening years. Not to mention that, and this may be pushing it, it feels odd punishing an old lady for what may have been a horrible error in judgment from her youth.

Like I said, I don't know.

[4N6 DNA]

Banner and related threads for the OP.

Man Imprisoned Daughter For 24 Years - Raped and Fathered Several Children with Her
Bosnia war crime suspect Karadzic arrested

[TheAngel]

Originally Posted by 4N6 DNA (View Post) Banner and related threads for the OP. Man Imprisoned Daughter For 24 Years - Raped and Fathered Several Children with Her Bosnia war crime suspect Karadzic arrested

Ooo, I like the banner. That looks good.

[sunnykerr]

I know. Have you seen our new Thread Guide?

Jessie has done a beyond fantabulous job of not only designing these banners, but hunting down all the threads that fall under their categories. It's an awesome job. Supreme kudos!

Police Officers Disciplined Over Wedding Brawl (CNN) -- Thirteen Galveston, Texas, police officers have been disciplined in connection with a brawl last year between officers and wedding guests. The fracas led to the arrest of 13 people, including Houston Astros pitcher Brandon Backe. Nine officers will be suspended, with the lengths of time ranging from two to seven days, and four will receive written reprimands in connection with the October 5 disturbance. The disciplinary actions stem from the violation of Galveston police administrative procedures, which stymied investigators trying to determine whether rules about the use of force had been violated. In the end, police said, the officers heeded the department's rules on the use of force but not on recording details of what happened. The incident centered around the drunk and disorderly behavior of Daniel Cole O'Balle, 19, who had been attending his sister's wedding at a convention center, police said. During the wedding reception, O'Balle became inebriated and at the end of the reception, "instigated a confrontation" with a security guard when he tried to take beer from the center, police said. The guard later spotted O'Balle with a beer at the San Luis Hotel bar H2O and called police, authorities said. "This comprehensive review has revealed that this incident, and the resulting arrests, was instigated by the actions of a single individual. This individual exercised extremely poor judgment and, if he had been properly supervised by his parents and not allowed to violate the law, this incident likely could have been avoided in its entirety," police said in a news release announcing the disciplinary action. Under Texas law, a minor can consume alcohol "if they are in the visible presence of, and have the consent of their adult parent, legal guardian or spouse." Police said O'Balle became "belligerent" when an officer confronted him and that he became "aggressive toward and noncompliant with" the officer. More officers showed up and others with the wedding party interfered to keep officers from arresting O'Balle, who threw punches at the officers, police said. About 30 police officers responded, and a large crowd eventually gathered. CNN affiliate KHOU-TV in Houston said police used pepper spray and electrical shock Tasers to detain and arrest 13 people, including Backe. KHOU said Backe was charged with interfering with a police officer. A mug shot of the Astros pitcher shows bruises on his face. Police gave the following account of what happened, based on an internal investigation: "When Lt. Joel Caldwell arrived, he determined that the crowd was so out of control that it was necessary to clear the bar to re-establish order. Accordingly, Lt. Caldwell ordered a tactical crowd control line was formed to clear the bar. "As officers instructed people to leave the bar, more individuals, some of whom were intoxicated, became belligerent and refused to leave when asked to do so," the account continued. "Those individuals who refused to leave peaceably or were otherwise disorderly, and those who appeared to officers to be intoxicated, were taken into custody for their violations." KHOU said police charged O'Balle with three counts of assault on a public servant and one charge of retaliation. Police said arrests were "based on probable cause" and that any force they used was a proper reaction to confront "resistance or interference." "No officer was found to have violated any departmental policies related to any arrest or any use of force," police said. The disciplinary actions are the result of an internal investigation in which 70 witnesses, suspects and officers were interviewed, documentation was examined and video was produced. Police investigators said "insufficient and inadequate reporting" by officers complicated their review of the case. There were failures by some officers and supervisors "to properly file affidavits, supplemental reports, booking reports, use of force reports and arrest warrants." The 13 disciplined officers also will be getting remedial training in documentation and reporting. "The investigators also determined that these paperwork failures, all of which occurred after the incident and related arrests, did not cause or contribute to the events in question or lead to any improper conduct by any officer in their responses to the situation presented by O'Balle and the others who were arrested," according to police.

Police officers disciplined over wedding brawl - CNN.com

So, I have two observations/questions about this story.

1) No mention of the bride and how this affected her. Interesting.

2) If this kid so drunk that he was disoderly and belligerent, how exactly was he throwing the kind of punches that required several police officers to subdue him? Why was that ever seen as a need?

3) (Yeah, I know, sue me) This thing of not letting kids drink before they're 21 is ridiculous.

[4N6 DNA]

I agree, there is a reason the drinking age is what it is. Its not like going on a field trip and getting parents permission.

Originally Posted by sunnykerr (View Post) Jessie has done a beyond fantabulous job of not only designing these banners, but hunting down all the threads that fall under their categories. It's an awesome job. Supreme kudos!

Just the recent like 15 pages, I didn't see possible active threads past that.

[TheAngel]

Originally Posted by sunnykerr (View Post) I know. Have you seen our new Thread Guide? Jessie has done a beyond fantabulous job of not only designing these banners, but hunting down all the threads that fall under their categories. It's an awesome job. Supreme kudos! Police officers disciplined over wedding brawl - CNN.com So, I have two observations/questions about this story. 1) No mention of the bride and how this affected her. Interesting. 2) If this kid so drunk that he was disoderly and belligerent, how exactly was he throwing the kind of punches that required several police officers to subdue him? Why was that ever seen as a need? 3) (Yeah, I know, sue me) This thing of not letting kids drink before they're 21 is ridiculous.

Well, here's the thing. I'm a cop. We all want to go home to our families at night and we never know how a situation is going to play out, so automatically, we call for backup, and then, if the situation appears to be getting violent, we apply shock and awe tactics. Basically, if someone gets violent, we rush them, in order to keep them from potentially drawing a gun or a knife, which is always a real possibility in today's world, we get them down and get them restrained as quickly as possible. Dealing with drunks can suck, because violent drunks can throw some ridiculous punches, they just don't have great accuracy. I don't really understand, from this article, why the cops were disciplined. It seems to me like they were doing their jobs.

[sunnykerr]

Well, there you go. I speak without really knowing the realities of what it's like to be on either side of that situation. I've never been faced with a belligerent drunk and I've never been drunk myself.

So mea culpa.

I do think, however, that there is something to be said for the fact that the United States has a rather ridiculous drinking age, compared to most areas of the world (ones that legally allow for drinking alcohol anyway).

It's a separate issue, I'm well aware, but it's not entirely unrelated.

[4N6 DNA]

TheAngel, may I ask you a question? Being that you are a cop? Do you take classes or have some sort of special training for knowing if someone is going to be dangerous/threatening or not? I heard about the cops who shot the guy who had the X-acto knife just recently while witnesses said it was entirely unnecessary for them to shoot him. I don't doubt a cops intuition and I certainly don't take lightly your right to analyze the situation and do what is best for yourself. Do you find it difficult? Or do you have the necessary training?

[TheAngel]

Originally Posted by 4N6 DNA (View Post) TheAngel, may I ask you a question? Being that you are a cop? Do you take classes or have some sort of special training for knowing if someone is going to be dangerous/threatening or not? I heard about the cops who shot the guy who had the X-acto knife just recently while witnesses said it was entirely unnecessary for them to shoot him. I don't doubt a cops intuition and I certainly don't take lightly your right to analyze the situation and do what is best for yourself. Do you find it difficult? Or do you have the necessary training?

Yeah, That's an excellent question. I feel like a lot of people don't know much about police training. In some places, I don't think training adequately prepares officers to assess situations. But, in other places, like my department, we train for six months before we ever start walking on the street, and then when we get out on the street we're paired with a senior officer for four months of "field training". During the academy, we learn a huge variety of things that help us do our jobs, from physical fitness to laws, and being able to interpret situations is important. For example, groups of men and women are more likely to become aggressive than single males and females because they feel like they have backup. Or, in the case of someone drinking, it's very difficult to know what's going to happen because people that are drunk are very unpredictable. Are they angry drunks, happy drunks, sleepy drunks? When you confront someone, you never know what's going to happen.
In the academy, we learn techniques to subdue someone in an aggressive situation, but we're always in controlled situations. If we fail to subdue our TAC (training) officer, then we have to do push ups or the like. If we fail in the field, we may be hurt. So our adrenaline's pumping. I'm 5'4" and about 120lbs and when I'm in a dangerous situation I'm much more physically aggressive than normal and while I can maintain control and I'm not going to hurt someone, but I admit it, I'm likely to put more pressure on a joint lock, or drop my knee a little harder, not because I want to hurt them, but because I don't realize that I'm doing it. At the same time, I'm thinking about my friends, my family, and the fact that I want to go home at the end of the day and this guy may be trying to keep me from doing so.
In terms of knives, those are really difficult situations. In general, we're taught not to engage someone with a knife, we try to engage long-distance tactics which, yes, sometimes means shooting a person. Our uniforms don't have any armor in them. Even if there are multiple people, someone's going to get cut, and if someone gets sliced in the neck, or the wrong way on a wrist, or even a thigh, and an artery gets cut, you can die incredibly quickly. If you get cut in the face and an eye gets taken out, you've lost your career. So it's still a dangerous situation, even if it's "just a knife" so to speak.
There are behaviors we look for in people that indicate whether or not they're going to be aggressive or threatening, but no situation is textbook once you get out of the classroom. We do what we can dealing with people in real-life situations, and we do what we can to make sure everyone, including the offender, gets home in one piece (or at least that they get their day in court) but that includes us. In the back of our minds, while we do our jobs, is that every traffic stop, every drunk kid, every domestic violence call, could result in that call our families dread and we do what we can to keep the streets and ourselves safe.



On another note: Sunny, I agree with you about the drinking age, that it should be lowered, and I know that most cops do, but we can't pick and choose what we enforce. There are a couple laws on the books I don't agree with, but in the end my job's still worth it. I'd like to think that maybe getting the drunk off the road or arresting the abusive husband has had a positive impact on the world. So ticketing a kid for drinking underage every once in a while, in order to be able to perform the other functions of my job, is worth it to me.

[sunnykerr]

Thank you for really answering that question. It's really interesting (and, quite frankly, important) to find out what goes into police training.

As to the laws and their enforcement, believe me, part of the reason why I will always have so much respect for what police officers do every day is that you guys have to enforce laws that you did not make. There's a bagillion different types of people out there, so it's odds on that most police officers have to enforce at least a couple of laws they don't agree with. And I do find that admirable.

So my whole think about the drinking age wasn't directed at the police officers doing their job honourably.

And, let's face it, the fact that our drinking age is 18 doesn't mean kids don't get stupid with alcohol either. I just think the U.S. drinking age is rather random is all.