Sleepless in Midland

With so many more people now carrying concealed weapons law enforcement could provide some active shooter training for citizens that included more than run and hide

"Run, hide, fight" was a viral video a while back about what to do when a disgruntled employee came to work aiming to kill. The scene I remember was the one in which the armed shooter walked past the sign at the front door which said guns were prohibited. Anyway, that was then.

There has been much news lately about the increase in number of background checks for gun purchases and applications for concealed carry licenses. There should be no disputing that the number of armed citizens is increasing. The required firearm training for the license, at least in Texas, consists of paper target practice with a minimum accuracy required to pass.

Law enforcement officers in most cities have active shooter exercises. (Previous posts at this blog have featured stories and photos from some of those exercises back in the day.)

There should be active shooter training for armed citizens, too. None of us wants a novice shooter doing a spray and pray in a crowded room. Likewise, none of us wants a tombstone engraved with, "He waited for the police."

Law enforcement at any agency could conduct the training, and if our local police at the Midland Police Department taught the classes they would surely be worth attending.

“Ferguson effect” was entirely predictable

We all remember the riots in Ferguson, Missouri, after Michael Brown was killed by a police officer last year. By all accounts, except for the one from Brown's partner in crime, the killing was justified by Brown's aggressive actions toward the cop. The cop, Darren Wilson, paid the price by being hounded out of town by citizens and government officials alike.

That was a lesson to police officers all around the country, and now we have the Ferguson effect -- police officers slacking off for fear of ending up like Wilson. This was entirely predictable. If you want to discourage behavior, make the person doing it pay a high price.

Even FBI Director James B. Comey talks about it. Here's an excerpt from a speech he gave the other day:

Maybe something in policing has changed.

In today’s YouTube world, are officers reluctant to get out of their cars and do the work that controls violent crime? Are officers answering 911 calls but avoiding the informal contact that keeps bad guys from standing around, especially with guns?

I spoke to officers privately in one big city precinct who described being surrounded by young people with mobile phone cameras held high, taunting them the moment they get out of their cars. They told me, “We feel like we’re under siege and we don’t feel much like getting out of our cars.”

I’ve been told about a senior police leader who urged his force to remember that their political leadership has no tolerance for a viral video.

So the suggestion, the question that has been asked of me, is whether these kinds of things are changing police behavior all over the country.

And the answer is, I don’t know. I don’t know whether this explains it entirely, but I do have a strong sense that some part of the explanation is a chill wind blowing through American law enforcement over the last year. And that wind is surely changing behavior.

Barack Obama and Al Sharpton bear a big part of the responsibility for this for egging on the rioters when they should have kept their mouths shut. But that's what we get for putting a community organizer in the highest office in the land.

Dealing with dogs -- new cops now required to get training

We've probably all seen a video or two of a law enforcement officer shooting some family's pet. One can almost understand if an officer genuinely feels threatened. However, most dogs want to protect their family, and a confrontational law enforcement officer might trigger that reaction. But most dogs don't go beyond making noise and don't represent a real threat.

It has happened enough times that animal advocacy groups lobbied for and got a law on the books in Texas requiring new law enforcement officers and those seeking a promotion to get training on the topic. Here's the way the Texas Humane Legislation Network describes it:

CANINE ENCOUNTER TRAINING FOR POLICE OFFICERS PASSED!
THLN had a huge victory with HB 593 - The Mandatory Canine Encounter Training Bill. This bill, which requires canine encounter training for all new police recruits and some of those seeking advancement, will train thousands of Texas peace officers to better handle encounters with our beloved canines. THLN began working on this bill in 2013 and created key partnerships with law enforcement and victim's families. Last year, over 200 dogs were shot by law enforcement in Texas; hopefully, HB 593 will drastically reduce these incidents. A special Thank You to Rep. Nicole Collier and her staff who passionately advocated for this bill.

(Bold added for emphasis.)

Over 200 dogs -- that sure seems like a lot. Maybe some dogs' lives will be saved by this measure. In any event, the bill went into effect on 9/1/2015.

Obama, like Dr. Frankenstein, was smart enough to create a monster but not smart enough to control it

This could apply to Obamacare, the Iran deal, or any number of Obama's monsters.

However, here I'm referring to the racism that has erupted during, and was encouraged, by the Obama administration. He has injected his opinion at every opportunity to charge racism against police. Each time, without exception, he took the side against the police. And in fact, he counseled and encouraged the "Hands up don't shoot" crowd in spite of the overwhelming evidence that contradicted their version of the events surrounding the shooting of Michael Brown.

Now we're seeing weekly headlines about police officers being senselessly killed by some aggrieved black person. Obama didn't actually order the killings, but he abetted them with his encouragement of the various anti-police movements.

Recall the recent chant, "Pigs in a blanket, fry 'em like bacon" as demonstrators shadowed police officers? Now they tell us it was that was just a joke. Ha ha. Some joke.

Oh, by the way. The story of Frankenstein didn't end well for the doctor. The monster, however, survived to make appearances in several sequels.

Blue Lives Matter

All lives matter, no matter how un-PC it is to say, as witnessed by Martin O'Malley and Bernie Sanders.

Which brings us to Blue Lives Matter, an organization started last year following the ambushing of two NYC police officers in what appeared to be retaliation for one or more of the incidents between police and African Americans that dominated the news at the time. The organization seems to be doing quite well.

And yesterday the Staten Island Yankees, a New York Yankees affiliate, hosted a Blue Lives Matter event at a game with the Brooklyn Cyclones. Good for them. But of course they came in for a predictable round of criticism.

Some of the protesters probably feel they have a legitimate gripe. But after revelations about the protesters-for-hire at the Ferguson riots, one has to wonder to what extent the protesters are going to serve as a political tool in the upcoming presidential campaigns.

As for police, the ones on the street have a dangerous job, and we need to appreciate that. Most of us probably have a love/hate relationship with the police. We love to know they are there if we need them. Unfortunately, they serve at the behest of politicians.  And sometimes it seems as if the laws they're enforcing are intended to raise municipal revenue rather than make us safer.

Bloodhounds could have done a better job of tracking escapees than Malinois

There have been two high profile man-hunts in the news in the past few years. One was the hunt for the Boston Bomber. Recall that he was wounded in a gun fight but escaped in an SUV. He got out, ran away, and hide in a boat. One might think that a good tracking dog could have followed the scent and found him. After all, he was bleeding. But no. It was the boat owner who found him.

Of all the photos of police officers with dogs at that scene, none showed a Bloodhound.

Fast forward to last week when law enforcement officers were canvasing, grid searching, and tracking David Sweat and Matt David. Again, no Bloodhounds in sight. In fact, David Sweat is supposed to have said he was "hiding in a hunting tree stand when an officer walked past him."

A Bloodhound wouldn't have walked past him.

Law enforcement these days like Belgian Malinois for their canine squads. Malinois are smart dogs, and according to dogs.petbreeds.com, they can track. But judging from those two high profile cases, they aren't that good at it.

Malinois are very aggressive, and as an animal control expert told an audience recently, "they can tear your arm off." Anyone who has seen a police dog demonstration probably watched a guy covered in protective clothing take off running, and when the dog is released, he grabs the guy and won't let go. They put on a good show. But when it comes down to actually finding the suspect, it's up to the humans.

Peace Officer Memorial in Midland Texas -- 5-14-2015

In normal times the job of a law enforcement officer is fraught with danger. And these days the arrests reports in the local newspaper are full of incidents in which someone assaulted an arresting officer.

Sometimes those encounters get deadly. Law enforcement officers are on the job by choice, and they assumed the risk when they signed on. Nevertheless, that doesn't matter much when a deadly encounter occurs. Then there are those hot spots where it seems as if residents have drawn bulls eyes on police officers to satisfy racial grievances. It's a dangerous job.

Today in Midland, Texas, the Midland Police Department conducted its annual memorial ceremony. And it was a touching ceremony.

Here are a few photos.

The main speaker was Judge Robin Darr who remarked that police officers who died in the line of duty gave their lives so that we might live. What a burden we carry. How could we ever repay such a sacrifice? About all we can do is honor their memory.

This PDF is a scan of the program where you can see the list of the 15 Texas officers killed in the past 12 months. That's 15 too many.

P.S. It was 16 if you count the Pepper, the dog from the Wise County Sheriff's office.

Active shooter training paid off for Garland cop who shot terrorists

Keeping him anonymous is a good idea. They're doing it to keep him off a jihadi hit list. But the anonymity adds a mystery. Who was that masked man? He could be in that patrol car. He could be anywhere. Watch out, you crazy jihadist losers, he's watching you.

Most police officers these days are trained for active shooter scenarios. And one important aspect of that training is conditioning the officer to advance toward the gunfire. Talk about counter intuitive.

That Garland cop who shot the two terrorists obviously had some good training. Bob Owens analyzed some of the published photos of the crime scene and tells us that the trail of evidence markers indicates that the officer advanced toward the shooters with a Glock-a-blazing. That takes some fortitude. See his analysis at Bearingarms.com. Via Weeklystandard.com.

The last active shooter training session I observed was eight years ago at the Permian Basin Law Enforcement Academy in Midland, Texas.  Officers were sent into scenarios designed to test their ability to think and act in a situation with the potential of return fire.

In the very first session the trainees were told there was a villain in one of the rooms. As soon as they entered the structure a shot rang out from a back room. It surprised them, but they advanced toward the sound like they were supposed to. Courage was on display along with skill. Read the write-up here, and see some photos here.

Meanwhile, citizen gun owners around the country are probably imagining similar terrorist scenarios in their own communities and planning to take careful aim so that only the terrorists are harmed.

Good shooting, everyone.

If Dan Higgins surrendered peacefully to sheriff's deputies how did his face get bashed up? Morning paper answers lingering question.

According to the story, several Midland County Sheriff's Office deputies went to Dan Higgins house to question and/or arrest him on October 9, 2014. And during the course of events, Mr. Higgins shot one of the deputies who died shortly thereafter. There was about a three and a half hour standoff before Higgins surrendered peacefully.

Then there was the published mugshot following his arrest. If he surrendered peacefully, how did he get those abrasion on his face?

Today's morning paper provides an answer. The Midland Reporter-Telegram eventually obtained results from an open records request and reported about the contents at Report: Gun that killed Naylor was reported stolen.

Here's an excerpt in which Higgins addressed the treatment he received from the arresting deputies:

"I understand that y'all beating the (expletive) out of me. I did it. I did it," he said. "I didn't fight back, but I get it; I understand that. But if that is the way it's going to be for the rest of the time, can we do it right here, can y'all shoot me up?"

At that point he was probably regretting having passed up the suicide-by-cop option.

Most citizens would want to see standoffs end peacefully rather than in shootouts. And it would seem that most law enforcement officers should want that too. But to telegraph to potential standoff subjects, as they did here, that if the person surrenders they will beat the expletive out of that person, then that doesn't seem like a message that will get positive results.

Everyday heroes -- two workers tried to stop NY gunman after he killed two cops

Ordinary people who step up in times of crisis -- those are heroes.

We all regret the cold blooded murder of the two NYPD police officers in Brooklyn yesterday. It was tragic and senseless. Much has and will be written about the incident. So let's focus on a smaller aspect of that incident.

Two Con Ed workers saw the murder and followed the killer in their truck. They tried to stop him, but he threatened them with his gun. They were unarmed, this being New York City where only police and outlaws carry guns. So they backed away but followed the killer, helping police locate him. The story is at NYPost.com. See Con Ed workers confronted gunman after he shot cops.

They remain anonymous, because, let's face it, the killer could become some sort of folk hero to people like the misguided miscreants who cheered when the cops got killed.

Kudos to those two unsung heroes.

Obama wants to spend $75 million on police body cameras

From thehill.com:

The White House estimates that aspect of the program, which would cost $75 million, would help fund the purchase of 50,000 body-worn cameras.

This is a real move forward for the president since just the other day he was encouraging protesters in Ferguson to "stay the course." He hasn't backed down from that in spite of the fact that the most credible of the witnesses to the Ferguson shooting provided support for theory that the shooting was justified. But at least Obama is saying that the next time it might be harder to deny the truth if it's right there on video.

Meanwhile, Darren Wilson was unceremoniously asked to leave the Ferguson police department without any severance or benefits. That sent a loud message to the other members of that police force, to wit: If you get anywhere near a situation in which there's even the slightest possibility of being accused of racism then run far away fast. If certain areas of town become no-fly zones, then so be it.

Militant New Black Panthers arrested for gun law violations with possible pipe bomb charges coming-- meanwhile Eric Holder says it's police who need to behave

These two headlines seem to be at odds with one another:

Black Panthers Indicted On Federal Gun Charges, Pipe Bomb Plot Near Ferguson, and
Holder Tells Law Enforcement to Behave.

It's almost as if the top law enforcement officer in the Obama administration isn't on the same page as the law enforcement officers on the ground.

Now it's true that neither of those publications would be considered MSM (friends of Obama). But they do highlight the disconnect between the elites in Washington and the people who are actually trying to live and work in peace in American today. This is what we get when Democrats elect a divisive community organizer as President.

James the burglar video, revisited

The crime statistics released by the city of Midland, Texas, on February 6, 2014, show 568 burglaries in 2013. That's just shy of two a day and up from 559 in 2012. No one wants to be burglarized, and I suppose each of us has devised a method of preventing burglaries or redirecting them to another house. My own method is to own things so old and cheap that only an idiot would break in to steal them.

Be that as it may, there's an excellent video online at the Richardson, Texas, website titled James: Confession of a Burglar. Probably part of a plea deal, a prolific burglar named James describes his tactics. It's 17 minutes long and worth the time it takes to watch it.

Here's a direct link if the embed doesn't work.

Note: If all this looks familiar it was featured on these pages last year at James the burglar describes his M.O..

P.S. Be sure to check out Crimemapping.com for criminal activity near you.

Law enforcement's monster trucks

Reason.com has been on the issue of militarized police for quite a while. And they've done a good job of keeping their readers up to speed and agitated. Here's a recent one from John Stossel titled Over-Policing America.

What brings this to our attention was the recent vehicle display at the preliminary event of the Midland, Texas, National Night earlier this month. Here's what the police and sheriff's deputies have to roll around in.

The big blue and white bus is a practical vehicle the police can use as a command station at the scene of an ongoing crime scene or disaster.

The brown one is a Lenco armored vehicle belonging to the police department. It appears to have the sole function of transporting a small group of people through gun fire.  It looks puny compared to the next one.

Now get a load of the Sheriff's monster truck. The turret hole on top is closed off, but we don't know whether the gun turret is locked in a garage or whether the vehicle didn't come with it. Note that it has the "V" bottom to protect occupants from explosions underneath. That should be handy should ISIS drop some IEDs on Midland Drive.

At first blush the federal government's 1033 program seems like a reasonable way to get rid of surplus vehicles. However, military style vehicles are overkill in small communities with declining crime rates. There are definitely some hot spots around the world where decent people could use some armor. If the federal government wants to get rid of those vehicles perhaps better uses could be found in less peaceful places.  Heck, line them up on the Southern border to form a fence.

Is that all the police mischief they could find?

Last week two days in a row the morning paper had front page headlines about police malfeasance they learned about through their open records requests.

The state gives sworn officers a tremendous amount of power over citizens, and we rightly hold them to the highest standard. For that the morning paper here in Midland, Texas,  is doing its job.

But the worst police officer offense they uncovered was the confiscation of panhandlers' signs and not turning them into the evidence room. The citizens were left thinking: "If that's all they could find, the cops must be pretty well behaved." No beatings, no blatant abuse of authority, just confiscation of panhandler signs.

The TV news picked up on it and ran it as news. See channel 9 and channel 7 where both use the word "homeless" without any indication they inquired as to the panhandlers' living quarters.

Now it's true that with sky high home prices and hotel room shortages there could be quite a few residents living in a van down by the river. But equating panhandling with homelessness is an assumption that may not be accurate.

In fact, there are rumors about people who do it because they make more money than they would at a job. It makes sense, especially if the individual is on public assistance that would vanish if he/she were officially employed.

There was also apparently one police officer who kept a set of brass knuckles for himself. That's not too good, but the Internal Affairs office dispensed its own punishment to the officer. And best of all, the other officers weren't afraid to report misdeeds they observed in the department.

In any case, it looks like we've got a pretty good police department. If you don't believe me, just ask the oil companies that are hiring away the experienced officers.

LAPD -- anti crime video featuring zombies

Ladies and gentlemen: the story you are about to hear is true.  The city is Los Angeles. The scene is a ordinary neighborhood. Zombies prowl the streets looking for unlocked cars to burglarize.

In a town made famous by the movies, what better way to reach an audience than through a self produced movie in which the villains are zombies?

It's a seven minute anti-crime video featuring zombies breaking into cars and stealing iPads and purses. At about the midway point, Captain Jeffrey Bert gives just facts ma’am. To wit: There are 400 cars burglarized a week, and the risk can be cut by 30% simply by locking the door. Lock it, hide it, keep it.

Watch through the end to see an animated Michael Jackson zombie dance while the credits role.

Youtube link to "LAPD's 'Invasion of the Zombie Bandits!'"

Via Dailyrecord.co.uk.

NYPD goes where FBI fears to tread

Islamic groups have been relentless in their claims to be victims of discrimination, and it has worked. Since 2011 Mosques have been off limits to FBI agents. See Obama's Snooping Excludes Mosques, Missed Boston Bombers.

However other agencies tried to be less sensitive to outside pressure and stepped in to fill the void. One in particular was the NYPD, which claims that its counter terrorism operations have stopped 14 terrorist plots since 2001.

But now the Islamists are using the courts to pressure the NYPD to back off. See Federal court reviews legality of NYPD Muslim surveillance program. They dusted off some old laws from the hippie days to try to stop the NYPD from investigating anyone unless there is evidence of crimes, and they seek a court appointed observer to oversee NYPD activities.

They claim that their religion is the basis for the scrutiny. But the NYPD says their investigations are based on evidence of legitimate threats, not religion. Meanwhile, those masses of supposedly moderate Muslims are still taking a passive role in all that terrorism business, perhaps waiting to see who ultimately prevails.

James the burglar describes his M.O.

Last night was the National Night Out annual event here in Midland, Texas. So this might be a good opportunity to listen to a career burglar and try to use that information to protect ourselves from people in his line of work.

This video is available for viewing at the Richardson, Texas, police website. Link. And it contains a brief biography of James, the burglar, as well as Q and A in which he describes how he did his job.

The introductory bio said he became addicted to heroin while serving in Vietnam. He returned to the States with a $400 a day habit, and he resorted to burglary to feed his drug dependency. The video said he was a 40 year old burglar and that he turned 21 in 1971. So that puts the recording date at around 1990. His hair looks a little long for that era, but maybe his long prison sentence locked in the style prevailing at the peak of his career. In any event, the tactics he described could still be in use today.

Now for some of the video highlights. He would follow a UPS delivery truck around and let the driver do the work of determining whether anyone was home. At that time, UPS drivers would leave a yellow card on the door notifying residents that a delivery had been attempted. So there was a notice right there on the front door announcing that no one was home. UPS drivers today are even more accommodating -- they simply leaving the package. James would love that.

At night he would look in residential garages and count cars. If there were two cars at night but none in the morning, that told him no one was home. He used a burglar's tool -- a pry bar especially for doors which would take the whole trim off. A dead bolt lock was useless. Quote:

You can put whatever you want in there, but you're really dealing with just trim and pieces of sheet rock, and the bar I use just collapses all that and without much of a vigorous effort.

People who leave their curtains open and lights on in the belief that it will deter burglars are mistaken, he said. All that did was give him a good view of what was available for stealing.

He didn't want a confrontation after he commenced the burglary, so he would bang on the front door to make sure no people or dogs were inside. If he went around back he would have a story ready in case someone surprised him. Quote:

I've had people walk out in the back yard and say, 'What do you want, what are you doing here?' And I'll say, 'My God, what are you doing still in your home? Don't you know we've got a gas leak reported here? Let me go call it in, what's your address?' And I'm gone. Confusion is what I try to instill.

He worked with a partner, and the two of them took six minutes to burglarize a house. They used sheets and pillow cases to carry the loot and keep it out of sight once it was in his pickup.

He said his victims were consistent in where they kept their valuables. Jewelry would be in a jewelry box on top of the dresser, in a bathroom closet, in the bedroom closet, under the bed, in the top dresser drawer, or sometimes in the bottom dresser drawer. Guns were kept under the mattress or in the closet.

The fence is an important person to a career burglar. James said he would go straight to the fence after stealing something. Quote:

My specialty is having the stuff sold and gone before it's even reported stolen. In that light, you, the thief, you're either good or you're bad. If you're good, you meet people at drug houses, uh, people in the business that, uh, if you're good, you go to prison, you do your time and you got no problems, plus the fact the number of people you meet in prison -- hey what are you doing? -- well, you know what I'm about. You get referrals. I mean, there's no problem about selling the merchandise. You'd be surprised, you'd be literally be surprised. I have a fence that owns five car lots. I have another fence that is a vice president of a very large dealership. Then again I have another one that owns a regular auto body shop. I have another guy who works, he does a lot of the buying for a very big store that's located in the Mexican barrio. And uh, a lot of my stuff goes to Mexico. The VCRs, the TVs, the microwaves, right across the line. ...

I will tell you this. When a number, identification number is scratched on a merchandise, it usually lessens the value of it ... on the fences end, because he has to deal with that.

The video concludes with his tips on how to avoid being burglarized.

Number one, close your blinds, close your curtains, leave the stereo on. The best protection you can have if you don't have an alarm is a dog. A burglar will not mess with you if you've got a dog. Now I say "normally," because I know I don't, and I've only seen a few guys that will mess with them. Like I say, your best protection is an alarm. The next best protection is a dog inside.

Your next best protection is concerned neighbors. People out there, you know, you live next door to each other for three years and you don't even know your neighbor's name. Uh, I can understand privacy, but to a point. I mean if people got together in concern, I bet they could curtail 1/3 of the burglars that are taking place just by involvement. If I'm doing a burglary and I see somebody walk out of a neighbor's house and look at me, I'm gone. Obviously I'm attracting attention, and that's not how it goes. When you get in a concerned neighborhood, you usually don't go back. You know, these people are on their job, you leave these people alone or you'll get busted.

If the embed doesn't work, watch "James, Confession of a Burglar," at this link.

MPD Open house

Meet Gus. He's a handsome German Shepard Dutch Malinois mix. He's a very well behaved dog, too, so well behaved that he won't tear your arm off unless he's given the proper command, in Dutch, by the right person.

That's Mollie Pehl (nee Porter) handling him. You may remember her from Police Academy - training defensive moves and Defensive Combat -- fists, feet, knives -- a pro fighter teaches police.

Gus is one of the MPD K-9 officers, and he was on display today at the Midland, Texas, Police Department Open House along with the Swat Team, the Rifle Team, and the Explosive Ordinance Division (Bomb Squad).

The EOD is a fascinating group. One has to admire the courage it takes to approach and disarm an explosive device -- you saw "The Hurt Locker," right? On the other hand, it must be fun playing with all the cool toys, like the Remotec Andros robot, for example.

When a suspicious package is reported the first step for the EOD is to X ray it with their portable machine. Once the film is developed, which they can do on location, they decide whether it's harmless or whether they need to blow it up to see what's in it. A package containing a cell phone and charging cable, however innocent, may be all it takes to raise suspicion. The next step is to haul it to a safe place and blow it apart. A couple of plastic water bottles with some C4 attached to them can project water with enough power to blow a package apart. Then they go pick up the pieces to see what was in it. If it was a bomb the water blast would have separated the blasting cap from the explosive material rendering it harmless.  Very impressive.

Previously on these pages about the Bomb Squad:
Fire in the Hole! The MPD Bomb Squad Performs and
Gunmen, hostages, bombs -- it's only a drill.

Let's not forget the children. There were lots of hands-on experiences available for the kiddos.

Fun, fun fun!

Everyone had a good time.

[Correction.  The spelling of Officer Pehl's name was corrected.]

Stealth cop cars

Last weekend we noted an intersection here in Midland, Texas, which is where a lot of traffic accidents occur. In fact, depending on the time frame, it's either number one or near number one in terms of accidents. Our simple suggestion was to paint lane markers to help drivers stay in the correct lane while turning left.

The city has come up with its own solution: *stealth cop cars to catch law breakers.

While I have my own opinion, I'll leave it to the experts to tell us whether high visible or stealth police presence does a better job of encouraging traffic law obedience.

However, since no one has been able to see one of those stealth police cars with the naked eye, we have to speculate. Perhaps they look like the one in this photo.

Photo source.

*From the news release: While citizens can expect to continue seeing a strong police presence keeping our roads safe, officers have plans to deploy less visible techniques to catch habitual offenders. One example is a plan to implement ghost lettering on traffic units, which will help officers blend in with other cars on the road while remaining clearly marked for identification purposes.

Citizen traffic cops

The police information service in the city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, has a blog called Cops & Bloggers -- tagged Saskatoon Police Service Blog -- which contains some interesting articles. A case in point is one written by Kelsie Fraser, the Social Media / Media Relations Specialist at Saskatoon Police Service, titled They did WHAT behind the wheel?!.

In that post Ms. Fraser advises readers in Saskatoon of a power available to them to report traffic law infractions they see. Excerpt:

The horror stories that we hear about behind the wheel and witness on a daily basis cause us to shake our heads too. The only difference is that we’re equipped with a ticket book, and we have the authority to use it. I know I’ve seen plenty of people on social media who wish they were equipped with the same book and had the same authority on their morning and afternoon commutes.

Well, I’m here to tell you that while you may not have the ticket book, I’ve found many people don’t know they have DO ability to report traffic infractions the same as they have the ability to report a break and enter, an assault, or a robbery. ...

All you need to do is come to the Service Centre at Police Headquarters and leave a written witness statement for us to get started.

**Note that a license plate is imperative to an investigation as a starting point.

It's easy to foresee a potential problem. Assume a citizen files the witness statement, a ticket is issued, but the witness failed to show up at court to testify. In that case everyone's time was wasted. The citizen should then be eligible for an arrest warrant for making a false report.

But another more frustrating problem would be for the citizen to file the witness statement with all the necessary information, then nothing happens. That's when the witness's ire shifts from the original traffic law breaker to the police. It would be interesting to know what percentage of citizen reports in Saskatoon actually resulted in traffic tickets.

The search for Dzokhar Tsarnaev -- who checked that boat the first go round, also where were the bloodhounds?

I would hate to be the cop who first searched the property and overlooked that boat where Dzokhar Tsarnaev was found hiding in that Watertown, Mass, residential neighborhood. Assuming that hideout boat was within the perimeter of the original search area, some law enforcement officer had the job of searching that property before the lock-down was lifted.

Whoever it was neglected to do a thorough search. There was an abandoned escape vehicle, a fugitive who escaped on foot, a bloody trail, a cut tie-down cord, and blood at the scene among the clues that would have led to the fugitive.

It would seem that anyone with the responsibility of searching an area would have thought to look in every possible hiding place -- dumpsters, trash cans, boxes, storage buildings, culverts, and yes, boats.

So someone had that responsibility and blew it.

Also, where were the bloodhounds? A bleeding suspect left a stolen SUV on foot. If it had happened near Huntsville, TX, the wail of bloodhounds would have filled the night, and they would have been on his trail in no time. Apparently, big cities prefer drug sniffing dogs over trackers.

Here's the way to order a search. Deputy Marshal Samuel Gerard:

Alright, listen up, ladies and gentlemen. Our fugitive has been on the run for ninety minutes. Average foot speed over uneven ground barring injuries is 4 miles-per-hour. That gives us a radius of six miles.

What I want out of each and every one of you is a hard-target search of every gas station, residence, warehouse, farmhouse, henhouse, outhouse and doghouse in that area. Checkpoints go up at fifteen miles.

Your fugitive's name is Dr. Richard Kimble.

Go get him.

Well, even Gerard didn't think to mention boats.

Update: "Dzhokar was located one block outside the designated containment area." Source. That explains why they didn't find him in the initial search. But it still doesn't explain the inability to following a bloody trail.

How hard must it be to find police officers who agree with Obama's gun control agenda?

 

PoliceOne.com released results from a survey they conducted in early March of this year. And the findings are interesting. PoliceOne.com has 400,000 members they verified as law enforcement officers, and their poll got over 15,000 responses.

The full survey results can be found here. Via WSJ.

Let's take a look at some of the questions and answers.

Q4 - almost 61% didn't think Obama's proposed legislation would improve their safety.

Q5 - 71% didn't think an "assault weapon" ban would reduce violent crime.

Q6 - a whopping 95.7% didn't think a ban of magazines that hold over 10 rounds would reduce violent crime.

Q7 - almost 80% didn't think a law prohibiting non dealer transfers of firearms between individuals would reduce violent crime.

Q15 - 61% said that if they were a sheriff or chief they would not enforce more restrictive gun laws.

Q19 - 91.3% said they supported concealed carry by civilians who haven't been convicted of a felony or been deemed psychologically or medically incapable.

Q22 - 80% thought that a legally armed citizen present at the shootings in Newton and Aurora could have reduced casualties.

Those are interesting survey results, and it shows a lot of common sense among those who participated in the survey. Many of those responders were probably state and local police officers, not employees of the federal government. And some of them might fear they too could be negatively affected by some of the anti gun sentiment prevalent today in the White House.

Anyway, take a look at the survey results and draw your own conclusions.

"I've been shot!" -- Katie Lawson, OK City cop, survives gun battle

It was a routine patrol for Oklahoma City Police Officer Katie Lawson. It was around 10:30 on the night of August 29, 2010, when she heard a sheriff's deputy radio for assistance. He had been trying to pull over a DUI suspect who wouldn't stop. The suspect drove home but then wouldn't exit his car. Officer Lawson responded to the call, and she and the deputy persuaded the suspect to get out of the car.

Meanwhile the suspect's two adult sons and hysterical wife were in the front yard talking away in a foreign language. The deputy handcuffed the suspect and put him in his patrol car. The deputy said he didn't need any more help, so Officer Lawson proceeded to drive away. She turned the corner and spotted a suspicious looking person in an open space outside the fenced yard of the DUI suspect's house. They spotted each other at the same time.

He turned his back as if to walk away. Then he whirled around with an AR-15 pointed right at her face.

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Let's take a breather at this point in the story. Katie Lawson is now a sergeant, and she was the keynote speaker last night at the Midland Police Department's 21st Annual Awards Banquet. Chief Price Robinson and the other members of the command staff presented awards to members of the MPD who did outstanding police work last year. Some of the awards were for routine matters, such as physical fitness or marksmanship. But four officers stood out, Margarita Strahan, Nathan Lane, Earl Davis and Todd Stanley, for saving a drowning man's life. Kinda makes a person proud of the MPD, doesn't it?

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Anyway, back to the story. Oklahoma City Police Officer Lawson was in her patrol car and a guy was pointing a AR-15 at her face. He started shooting, and muzzle flashes lit up the night. Bullets hit the car door, the mirror, the windows, the head rest, and her.

As soon as the shooting started she leaned away from the car window. Her training kicked in, and she drew her gun and rose and shot back, 11 times without hitting him. He turned and ran back toward the house. She got out of the car to chase him. But she noticed that she was wet and weak, and she realized she had been hit. “I thought I might pass out and fall to the ground and never wake up.”

Now on the ground, conscious, and with the shooter in retreat, she focused on her radio expecting to hear all kinds of chatter about what was happening. But to her surprise there was no radio traffic. There she was all by herself, and no one knew what was going on. So she called for help, and it seemed like forever before anyone arrived. A police colleague arrived first. He pressed on a wound. "You're hurting me," she said, and he replied "I'm trying to stop the bleeding!"

She had been hit a total of six times -- in the chest, in the back, in the buttocks, and one bullet grazed her cheek and pierced her ear. She had on a protective vest, but as we've demonstrated before, vests by themselves don't stop AR-15 bullets. However, many of the bullets passed through the car door first which slowed them down. Bullet fragments and pieces of the car flew around inside the car like shrapnel.

The shooter was the original DUI suspect's oldest son named Hector Escalante, and the family was afraid that if daddy was arrested he would be deported. Some strange family or cultural value told them the solution to their problem was to shoot it out with that one police officer. But once she shot back the suspect retreated and tried to hide the rifle. The police got a warrant, searched the house, found the rifle, and arrested all three.

The mom, Vilma Escalante, the other brother, Alex Mercado, and Hector were charged with conspiracy. At trial, Hector got life plus 10 years. A life sentence in Oklahoma is 25 years. Alex got three years, and Vilma was acquitted. Daddy got deported.

And last night Katie Lawson, alive and well, told a riveting story.  She kept the audience on the edge of their chairs as she told of her experience. As we watched and listened, several times before she finished her story I had to remind myself that since she was standing right there in front of us, she did make it through that horrifying event.

In case you were wondering, yes, she was wearing a protective vest the whole evening.

Links:
TV news report shortly after the shooting;
TV news report which replays a portion of Lawson's radio call for help;
Newspaper trial coverage.

Police doing a great job in Midland, Texas

The City of Midland released the crime stats compiled by the MPD which compare 2012 with 2011. As follows:

Crime	2011	2012	Change
Murder & Manslaughter by Negligence	4	4	0%
Forcible Rape	20	23	15%
Robbery	58	52	-10.34%
Aggravated Assault	252	321	27.38%
Burglary	715	559	-21.82%
Theft	2,435	2,313	-5.01%
Auto Theft	137	136	-0.73%
Total Part I	3,621	3,408	-5.88%

Note that aggravated assaults are up. That has to be a hard one for the police to get a handle on. It doesn't take a whole lot of effort to commit an assault. But an aggravated assault means the assault must have caused serious bodily injury or involved a deadly weapon. (Picture a drunken brawler breaking a bottle on the bar and wielding it as a weapon. I know, I know, I watch way too much TV.) Anyway, that's behavior that's hard to foresee and prevent.

Burglaries are down significantly. And the police department should get accolades for that. It probably took a lot of policing to catch the burglars they caught. And for every burglar sitting in the slammer, that's a number of burglaries that didn't happen.

Keep up the good work you guys and gals in blue.

Calm down about that Illinois precious metal purchasing act

It's just a way to help police recover stolen property.

Zerohedge.com is calling attention to a proposed Illinois law which would require purchases of precious metal to identify the seller and make record of the sale. (Via Instapundit.)

The fear is that the government of Illinois may then have an easy way to confiscate that precious metal from private owners. Maybe Illinois residents have reason to fear their government. But residents of other states aren't quite that paranoid, at least of their state governments.

In fact, the state of Texas has had a similar law on the book for almost a decade. With the price of precious metals near their peaks there is a steady market. Transient precious metal buyers will set up shop in a hotel and advertise for people to come sell their jewelry. Seems like an easy way to unload stolen property.

House burglars will look for anything of value. But let's assume the burglar made off with a bag full of expensive jewelry. Unless he just likes to give jewelry away to his many girlfriends, gifts that carry a definite risk, he probably wants to turn that hot merchandise into cash. Along comes a precious metal buyer who may just want to melt down the gold or silver to sell in bulk. And it's a perfect crime.

The Texas law requires that dealers of crafted precious metal mail a description of the property along with the name of the seller to the chief of police or sheriff within 48 hours after the description is supplied to the dealer.

Yes, I suppose that does impinge on a person's privacy when the police have a description of jewelry that just changed hands. So it's a trade off. Sellers have to give up information. And police have a way to recover stolen property.

 

On a related note, way back in 2010 a guy was arrested for robbing a Cash America Pawn Shop in Lubbock, Texas, after he tried to sell jewelry he stole to a precious metal buyer in Florida.

Sometimes the good guys win.

Lois Gibson forensic artist

Drawing a sketch that looks like a person who is sitting right there is hard enough. But it has to be even harder when all the artist has to go on is a verbal description. The job of a forensic sketch artist isn't easy. And when someone with talent like Lois Gibson comes along she gets noticed.

She's so good that according to Dailymail.co.uk she earned the "Guinness World Record for being the world's most successful sketch artist, having helped to solve well over 1,000 crimes over her 30-year career."

But there's more to her work than criminal investigation. She also sketches faces of Holocaust victims based on descriptions from survivors. Pretty amazing.

See some samples of her work here. And come to think of it, since her sketches are usually of victims or criminals, getting drawn by her is something the rest of us might want to avoid.

Via.

National Night Out -- Party on!

Last night was National Night Out here in Midland, Texas, and thanks to the organizers in the MPD Community Relations Department, the kickoff event came off without a hitch. The MPD brass were there along with lots of dignitaries, including the two individuals currently in town for a CALEA accreditation review of the police department.

It's a simple concept. Get people out of their houses to meet their neighbors. If they know who belongs in their neighborhood, they know who doesn't belong.

Here are some photos from last night.

Easy old boy, no horseless carriage will ever replace you!

Sic 'em.

CALEA right here, y'all, taking it all in.

McGruff, Safety Pup, and The Night Out Knight.

John Klassen at the 2012 MPD awards ceremony

Last night the Midland Police Department held its 20th annual awards ceremony at the Midland Country Club where some of Midland's finest were celebrated for their accomplishments during the year just past.

Chief attorney in the U.S. Attorney's office in Midland, John Klassen, was the keynote speaker, and he gave a brilliant and very relevant talk.

Mr. Klassen attended school at Columbia University in time to see New York City reap the benefits of James Q. Wilson's Broken Windows theory. And he was convinced.

The broken windows theory is very simple. If there's one broken window in a building, and it doesn't get fixed, they all will eventually be broken. Address problems while they are small, and they don't become big problems. Back when squeegee men made driving a nuisance, and fare beaters jumped the turnstiles, respect for the law declined. The crime rate increased, and honest citizens felt insecure. So Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Police Commissioner William Bratton put the broken windows theory into practice and significantly improved the lives of New Yorkers. That's a lesson Mr. Klassen took to heart.

There is an emphasis on U.S. Attorneys, Mr. Klassen said, to go for the big stuff. Prosecute the major crimes, and get the headlines. That's important, but that means de-emphasizing the smaller things. There's that broken window theory again -- ignore the small problems, and before long you've got big problems. So Mr. Klassen doesn't ignore the small stuff, and he believes it pays off.

Another theory Mr. Klassen discussed was deterrence. If someone is thinking about breaking a law, there's a rational thought process going on. But the possibility of a long sentence doesn't seem to matter. What does matter is swiftness and certainty of punishment.

As a good attorney, Mr. Klassen has had offers to work elsewhere, but he enjoys working in Midland and wants to continue living here. One has to wonder what the transition must have been like when he moved from New York City to Midland. But here he is. And taking him at his word, he likes it.

Having worked with the police he had complimentary words for the police department. And whether it's the broken windows theory or the swiftness and certainty of arrest and punishment, the Midland Police Department has made the city a nice place to live.

The police officers and civilian who were awarded last night have done a lot to make Midland the city it is. And we the citizens have benefited greatly from the high quality of police officers in the MPD.

Short spree for this bank robber

This seems like a rather remarkable feat of law enforcement action. Yesterday (Thursday 2/9/12) just before 4pm a Bank of America branch bank was robbed in Midland, Texas. (Photo source.)

Then around 10 hours later a suspect was arrested about 20 miles away. See CBS7.com:

February 10, 2012
UPDATE 2:54 PM
In a joint investigation, the MPD and FBI have arrested Mark Willman (DOB 9/30/69) for the bank robbery at 4309 Garfield on February 9, 2012
Update 10:15AM
The FBI is confirming that the bank robbery suspect from the Bank of America Thursday afternoon has been arrested and is in federal custody.
He was arrested at 1:20AM at a hotel in Odessa.
He is expected to be federal court this afternoon.

MyWestTexas.com is very good about posting warrants, so if they do it this time hopefully we might get more details on how the FBI and MPD identified and captured him so quickly.

P.S. KWES.com says the hotel was the Royal Inn, a hotel that must be so exclusive it isn't even listed at Hotels.com.