Officer Down

Deputy Sheriff Micah Lee Flick
El Paso County Sheriff's Office, Colorado
End of Watch Monday, February 5, 2018


Deputy Sheriff Micah Flick was shot and killed while conducting an auto theft investigation in the area of Galley Road and N Murray Boulevard, in Colorado Springs, at approximately 4:00 pm.

Several officers attempted to take a suspect into custody, but the man began to struggle and then opened fire, fatally wounding Deputy Flick and wounding two other deputies, a Colorado Springs police officer, and a bystander. The man was shot and killed by return gunfire.

Deputy Flick had served with the El Paso County Sheriff's Office for 11 years. He was killed on the 11th anniversary of starting with the department. He is survived by his wife and 7-year-old twins.

Rest in Peace Bro…We Got The Watch

Nemo me impune lacessit

Day is done, Gone the sun, From the lake, From the hills, From the sky. All is well, Safely rest, God is nigh.

Reaching out to to least of God's children to the end....

I never met the Reverend Billy Graham in my life, and I do regret that. I missed an opportunity for mass with Pope John Paul II in 1987, again, something I do regret. But Graham, like John Paul II, to the end, was preaching the all of God's children, great, and not so great. Reverend Graham had no issue with going into the prisons and spreading the Word of God to the men and women who needed it most.

As his funeral approaches this Friday, I found this article interesting. His (and his late wife's) casket was assembled by the prisoners of Angola State Prison, Angola LA. From Channel 9 in Baton Rouge.

WAFB 9 News Baton Rouge

ANGOLA, LA (WAFB) -
Inmates at one of the country's most well-known prisons will have a hand in laying Reverend Billy Graham to rest. At his request, Angola inmates built his casket back in 2006.

Louisiana State Penitentiary is known as the "Alcatraz of the south." It’s home to the state's most notorious criminals, but is also home to a renowned prison ministry.

“I feel there is a great outpouring of the holy spirit behind bars at this time,” said Clifford Bowman.

Bowman is in bible college at Angola. He was selected to be part of a special team on a special mission: to build a casket. It’s a regular casket for a not so regular man: evangelist, Billy Graham.

“We of course prayed before we started and that's something that does not happen every day when they are doing it in the regular work. Where God is working the devil's gonna’ be there working, so he's gonna’ try and get his licks in, too,” said Bowman.

“This was a great honor. Because this is a great man of God and he wants him an inmate to build his coffin and get the inmate preachers involved and it's mind-boggling. It sends a great message,” said Burl Cain.

Richard Liggett constructed the casket for Graham with a couple of modifications from his usual work.

“I respect the man. I've listened to him. I know what he preaches. You know, but other than that, I just wanted to do the best job I could,” said Liggett...

...“It’s so symbolic, even though the prisoners have committed horrible crimes... God loves them, too,” said Cain.

And so did the Reverend Graham. Thank you Mr. Cain, and the rest of you for preparing this great casket:

Rest In Peach Reverend Billy Graham. You received The Calling at age 14, and spent a lifetime spreading His Word. Now He will receive you in His Glory.

911...The Next Generation....

When I was a kid (think less than 5) I called the police from my house outside of Raceland, LA. Like many people in the country, we had a party line. My house was three rings (young people, Google it), and I called the police on my brother because he was a punk.

I think back after all these years, knowing there was a nice women on the other end of the line talking me though my little crisis on one hand and dying laughing on the other. My mother saw me talking on the phone, asked what I was doing, and when she found out I was talking to the cops, slammed the phone down (long time before caller ID).

Little did I know two states over a new system was just starting, the 9-1-1 system. Now as it has completed it's first fifty years of service, it, like telecommunications, must evolve. An interesting read:

What does the next 50 years hold for 911?

Fifty years ago at 2 p.m. on February 16, 1968, the first 9-1-1 call was made in Haleyville, AL...

..History of 911

Before the advent of technology, town criers would summon help by running up and down streets announcing the emergency, which in turn typically got a town watchman (a term used before police officer) to respond, as well as community members.

By the 1920s, call boxes were installed at key locations in a town where first responders could go to receive a call for service or call into the police or fire station to report an incident in the community.

In the early 1950s, independent telephone companies and telephones in homes and businesses were becoming common in the United States. However, if you needed a first responder for an emergency, you dialed a 5- to 7-digit number to the police station, a different 5- to 7-digit number for the fire station and yet a third 5-to 7-digit number for a medic.

Another option was to dial 0 for the operator to connect you but, as you can imagine, you lost precious time going through a third party in order to be connected to first responders.

By the late 1950s there had been enough volume of calls and loss of critical time during emergencies that demands for a universal emergency number started to surface. This number had to be easy to remember and access all responders – police, fire and medical.

The United Kingdom had been using 999 since the 1930s as its emergency number and some standalone systems in the United States used a variation of three-digit numbers. Prior to 1968, there was no standard universal emergency number.

I have read many accounts as to why the numbers 9, 1, 1 were chosen, considering all calls made during this time period occurred on rotary dial phones. For the purposes of dialing the quickest numbers on a rotary dial, it would make sense to dial 1-1-1, however, the number 1 was already used to make international calls and 0 was always for the operator. One of the main reasons was that those three consecutive numbers (9-1-1) were not in use within the U.S. phone systems as a prefix or area code.

On February 16, 1968, the first call was made in Haleyville, Alabama, after the introduction of the nation's first 9-1-1 system, which was located at a police station...

...Where are we today with 911?

The technologies our communities use today to communicate have changed drastically since 1968 and our nation’s legacy 9-1-1 system needs a major overhaul in order to keep up with the public’s expectations.

In my 26 years as a law enforcement officer, I was often astonished by how little the public knew about the nation’s 9-1-1 system. Thanks to TV shows like “24” and “NCIS,” people think 9-1-1 centers know all things about all people all the time when they dial 9-1-1. Nothing could be further from the truth!

Emergency call takers today often only know the number a person is calling from and a general sense of their location. Emergency communications centers report that 75 to 90 percent of their call volume now arrives in the center via phones using a commercial wireless network. These calls typically only provide the call taker with the number calling and the caller’s approximate location based on the cellular tower transporting the call. Location accuracy for wireless callers continues to be the highest concern for personnel who work in these centers...

Harris County TX (think Houston area) has established a "smart" 911 system, the Greater Harris County 9-1-1 system. You can log onto their site, upload information such as two addresses (think home and work), your identification and any medical information needed. By all accounts it's a work in progress, but for an elderly person with a chronic illness it may be a life saver.

...Current 9-1-1 systems across America are based on 1970s technology.

The national 911 infrastructure is well beyond end of life and does not meet the needs of current technology, or more importantly, what the public expects from its emergency communications centers
Most of the 6,000+ public safety answering points (PSAPs) or emergency communications centers are under law enforcement administration and in desperate need of consolidation to make best use of funds, technology and personnel. Some cities and counties have multiple PSAPs in one municipality, often transferring calls between one another, losing precious seconds and information during the call transfer. Creating more shared resources on the call intake and sharing technology and staff, which is arguably the real big money saver especially by sharing technology and resources to maximize the local knowledge value of that function.

What about Next Generation 911?

Depending on whom you ask, you will get different answers on what Next Generation 9-1-1 (NG911) really means.

If a PSAP has switched to an internet protocol (IP)-based emergency telephony system, they may say they are NG911-compliant even though they may not be accepting any text, photos or video to 911.

The generic definition for NG911 is that it will enhance emergency number services by creating a faster, more resilient system that allows digital information (e.g., voice, photos, videos and text messages) to flow seamlessly from the public, through the 9-1-1 network and eventually, directly to first responders.

Others would argue that this definition needs to include the transfer of all this digital data from one PSAP to another, because in densely populated areas, such as the National Capital Region, emergency calls are often routed to the wrong PSAP based on the location of the cellular tower, not necessarily the location of the emergency.

We need to define “NG 9-1-1” in a common and comprehensive way – meaning connectivity plus the equipment and services needed by PSAPs to process, analyze and store incoming data.

You have full NG 9-1-1 only when a citizen can send a multimedia message to a PSAP, who in turn can receive and process it, and send along to responders in the field (such as via FirstNet) or seamlessly transfer or exchange this data with other PSAPs.

This is where standards will play a huge role to ensure all PSAPs adopt a single set of standards that all equipment manufactures will follow to ensure, not only a smooth transition of digital data from the public to the PSAP, but also between PSAPs. The current leading standard being followed for NG911 is the NENA i3 standard.

When NG911 arrives it will mean faster call delivery and in multiple formats – voice, text, photos and videos. Currently only voice is available to 9-1-1 centers across the country and very small pockets are receiving text to 911. It will mean increased routing accuracy and redundancy when working in tandem with other PSAPs, as well as improved performance for call overflow and backup when traditional voice lines are tied up...

Other information that may be voluntarily given to a "smart" 9-1-1: Medicine taken by the caller; Are their dogs at the house, and; Fence passcodes. A strange new world, where we're defiantly loosing some privacy. But the quicker reaction time for an ambulance may be well worth it.

Very true....

Mroe than a few times I've been ready to take a brink to the head of someone like this...."OK, you waited days to report this...after the heavy rains you want me to obtain evidence...got it..."

Officer Down

Police Officer Glenn Anthony Doss, Jr.
Detroit Police Department, Michigan
End of Watch Sunday, January 28, 2018
Age 25
Tour 2 years
Badge Not available
Incident Date Wednesday, January 24, 2018

Police Officer Glenn Doss, Jr., succumbed to gunshot wound sustained four days earlier while responding to a domestic violence call in the 5500 block of McDougall Street at approximately 10:30 pm.

Before officers arrived on scene the male subject exited the home with a firearm. As Officer Doss and his partner arrived at the location the man opened fire on their patrol car, striking Officer Doss in the head. His partner transported him to Detroit Receiving Hospital where he underwent surgery.

The subject barricaded himself inside of the home for approximately four hours until being taken into custody when the SWAT team deployed chemical agents in the home.

Officer Doss passed away from his injuries on January 28th, 2018.

Officer Doss had served with the Detroit Police Department for two years. He is survived by his 9-month-old child, girlfriend, and parents. His father also serves as a police officer with the Detroit Police Department.

Rest in Peace Bro…We Got The Watch

Nemo me impune lacessit

Day is done, Gone the sun, From the lake, From the hills, From the sky. All is well, Safely rest, God is nigh. 

Florida active shooter AAR....

I was in the Gulf of Mexico (on a cruise) when the Parkland FL shooing occurred. While I've already commented on how I think this is another example of a lack of communication between local and federal law enforcement, I found this look at the incident interesting. From PoliceOne.com:

Rapid Response: 4 key takeaways from the Fla. high school shooting

If we want to make a dent in mass shootings like the one in Florida, we need to fix our mental health system

A 19-year-old man shot and killed 17 students and adults at a high school in Parkland, Florida, and wounded many more...

...We will learn more about this horrific crime as the investigation continues, but even at this early stage, we can identify useful pieces of information from the reporting to highlight several longstanding truths about these rapid mass murder incidents:

1. We have a mental health crisis in America.

There will be a predictable focus on the tool used by the killer by some people with a political agenda, but the real story here is about a young man who had mental and emotional problems, and didn’t get the right help for them...

...We can’t say with any certainty right now, but it’s likely that in the coming days we will discover a pattern of behavior indicating this man needed professional help that he didn’t get for some reason.

Cops will be the first to tell you that the mental health system in America is broken, because they’re the ones who inherited the primary burden of dealing with the mentally ill after we deinstitutionalized mental health care in the 1970s. With nowhere else to go, many of these ill people wound up in the criminal justice system, which is ill-equipped to handle their needs. Most of the rest wound up on the streets, with no help at all...

The issue here is very thorny. Two points I would bring out. One, a definition of "mental illness" would have to be in the legislation. Gun control advocates (see liberals) would oppose that, as they would rather it be left to the bureaucracy to define, and change, without notice. See the TSA "No fly" list. Two, a "No buy" would assumedly be built from mental health records. That would conflict with another law called HIPAA. Physiological workers are under similar restrictions of other privileged communications, such as spousal talk, and attorney-client discussions. I don't think many people saying, more accurately screaming, "We need a no-buy list!!!!" have thought the details out.

2. Our schools deserve better security.

While there was an armed school resource deputy on campus at the time of the shooting, he never encountered the shooter, according to the Broward County Sheriff's Office. It’s reported that a football coach – who also served as an unarmed security officer – bravely responded to the attack and shielded students from harm.

In this day and age, it’s unacceptable for a school – any school, be it public or private, regardless of student age – to operate without an armed security presence on site. There is no combination of passive security measures, defensive architecture, or unarmed security that can adequately protect our most precious resource – our children – from an armed attacker intent on destruction. The only thing that can properly defeat an armed attacker is a defense manned by trained and armed personnel.

Please note, this does not have to be a police officer. Programs such as the Transportation Security Administration’s Federal Flight Deck Officer program or the Buckeye Firearms Association’s FASTER program have ably demonstrated how selected volunteers can be trained to provide a necessary layer of defense, and act as on-scene first responders, while more capable resources (the police) are summoned. Furthermore, such volunteers can act as force multipliers even if a School Resource Officer (SRO) is assigned to the school, and can fill in the gaps for those occasions when the SRO is not on campus...

Good point. We have people who can assist law enforcement in securing these, quite frankly, easy targets. A sign proclaiming "No weapons allowed..." only means there are no good guys allowed to be armed.

3. Enemy tactics are improving.

The killer reportedly wore a gas mask and had smoke grenades, setting off a smoke alarm to flush students from their classrooms, where they could be more easily targeted. In an environment where a lockdown is the predictable response to an active killer threat, today’s killer found an easy way to short circuit the defense by using the school’s own fire response protocol against them.

This denotes a rather sophisticated level of planning and tactical awareness that shouldn’t surprise anyone in this audience. We know these killers study the successes and failures of other killers, and make continuous improvements to their game. They adapt their tactics and their weapons to ever-changing conditions, managing to retain the initiative. We should expect this cycle to continue.

That is the most significant item to take from this. These active shooters are looking studying the techniques of previous shooters, and improving their techniques. In the Army, we used Intelligence Preparation of the Battlefield:

...the systematic, continuous process of analyzing the threat and environment in a specific geographic area. It is designed to support staff estimates and military decision making. Applying the IPB process helps the commander selectively apply and maximize his combat power at critical points in time and space on the battlefield by--

◾Determining the threat's likely COA.

◾Describing the environment your unit is operating within and the effects of the environment on your unit.

Perhaps we need to adapt this to the Intelligence Preparation of the Target Space, developing a "systematic, continuous process of analyzing the threat and environment in a specific geographic area" and use it to target the threat. That is a work in progress, and the subject of a later blog post.

4. We cannot relax our efforts.

As a result, we cannot afford to rest. We too must seek continuous improvement in our tactics, training and equipment, and must never allow our preparations to grow stale. We must stay abreast of the latest enemy tactics, and organize flexible, responsive defenses that can quickly adapt to the situation.

Among other things, attention should be paid to:

Developing more comprehensive security protocols for our schools than simply relying on “lockdown” tactics;

Ensuring our schools have a trained, armed security presence;

Providing vehicle-pedestrian exclusion in public areas and venues;

Eliminating fictional “gun-free zones” that only disarm the law-abiding, but leave criminals free to terrorize and injure innocents;

Teaching hemorrhage control basics to the public;

Integrating law enforcement and fire-EMS assets;

Honing the tactics for the joint deployment of these police-fire-EMS resources.

Integrating EOD into our tactical teams, and ensuring those teams are nimble enough to respond to the complex, coordinated attacks that we know are coming.

Providing meaningful safety education and training to employees, instead of pretending that they are suitably trained because we have a “Run, Hide, Fight” poster on the wall in the break room.

Stay Alert

The mass murder in Florida was horrific, but it was not unforeseeable. We don’t know the details of when or where, but we know another tragic scene like this is on the horizon.

It’s incumbent on us, as the guardians of public safety, to take advantage of the time we have and ensure that we are using it to prepare for the next event like this. Hopefully, the citizens in your area will never be the target of a mass killer, but we can’t count on that.

Work hard. Stay alert. Be safe.

About the author

Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.) Mike Wood is an NRA Law Enforcement Division-certified Firearms Instructor and the author of "Newhall Shooting: A Tactical Analysis."

Good overall look at a very evolving threat.

Officer Down

Deputy Sheriff Heath McDonald Gumm
Adams County Sheriff's Office, Colorado
End of Watch Wednesday, January 24, 2018
Age 31
Tour 5 years
Badge 381

Deputy Sheriff Heath Gumm was shot and killed during a foot pursuit near 88th Avenue and Dawson Street, in Thornton.

Deputies had responded to an assault in progress call at approximately 7:30 pm and became involved in the foot pursuit with one of the subjects. The man ran behind a house in the 8700 block of Dawson Street. As Deputy Gumm ran behind the house he was shot by the subject and struck in the chest.

The subject was apprehended and charged with murder of a peace officer and two additional counts of murder. A search continued for two additional subjects.

Deputy Gumm served with the Adams County Sheriff’s Office for four years. He was posthumously promoted to the rank of detective.

He is survived by his wife, parents, sister, and grandmother.

Rest in Peace Bro…We Got The Watch

Nemo me impune lacessit

Day is done, Gone the sun, From the lake, From the hills, From the sky. All is well, Safely rest, God is nigh. 

The FBI dropped the ball.....

I have no particular dislike or disrespect for federal law enforcement in general, or the FBI in particular. But where I used to look upon them as practical demigods of law enforcement, I look at them as any other policing organization, be it with a wider area of operation, and greater resources. They have three types of agents, a few great, a few terrible, and the rest somewhere in between. Like every other law enforcement agency.

I have posted before on where the FBI failed to warn local authorities about the threat of the Tsarnaev brothers (And it was the subject of an American Thinker article I authored.) Now I've heard of the shooting in Florida and I've seen another example of not spreading the word as needed.

In an email on Sept. 24, Ben Bennight alerted the FBI to a "school shooting threat" made by a YouTube user named nikolas cruz.

The FBI Was Warned About A School Shooting Threat From A YouTube User Named Nikolas Cruz In September

In September, a YouTube user named Nikolas Cruz left a comment on a video stating, "I'm going to be a professional school shooter." The video's creator alerted both the FBI and YouTube.

Last fall, a Mississippi bail bondsman and frequent YouTube vlogger noticed an alarming comment left on one of his videos. "I'm going to be a professional school shooter," said a user named Nikolas Cruz.

The YouTuber, 36-year-old Ben Bennight, alerted the FBI, emailing a screenshot of the comment and calling the bureau's Mississippi field office. He also flagged the comment to YouTube, which removed it from the video.

Agents with the bureau's Mississippi field office got back to him "immediately," Bennight said, and conducted an in-person interview the following day, on Sept. 25.

"They came to my office the next morning and asked me if I knew anything about the person," Bennight told BuzzFeed News. "I didn't. They took a copy of the screenshot and that was the last I heard from them."

FBI agents contacted Bennight again Wednesday, after a 19-year-old named Nikolas Cruz allegedly opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in South Florida, killing at least 17 people...

...Though his name matches the YouTube user flagged in September, FBI officials would not say whether they have confirmed that the account belonged to Cruz.

But around 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday — about 30 minutes after Cruz was taken into custody by police in Broward County — Special Agent Ryan Furr with the FBI's Miami field office called Bennight and left him a voicemail.

"I think we spoke with you in the past about a complaint that you made about someone making a comment on your YouTube channel," the agent said in the message, which Bennight provided to BuzzFeed News. "I just wanted to follow up with you on that and ask you a question with something that's come up, if you wouldn't mind giving me a ring."

A few hours later, Bennight said, FBI agents in Mississippi visited him again in person, pressing for more information about the YouTube user Nikolas Cruz.

"They asked me if I knew who he was. I didn't. I don't," Bennight said. "Then they left..."

We can only speculate if the local cops were notified and interviewed Cruz, would he had been warned off. Or he may have conducted it as planned. But one thing cannot be speculated, and cannot continue. When the FBI has information like this, it must immediately share it with the applicable local law enforcement agencies. Failure to achieve the mission of preventing crime is something that will happen. Failure to attempt it is inexcusable.

Officer Down

Deputy U.S. Marshal Christopher David Hill
United States Department of Justice - United States Marshals Service, U.S. Government
End of Watch Thursday, January 18, 2018
Age 45
Tour 11 years

Deputy U.S. Marshal Christopher Hill was shot and killed in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania while attempting to serve an arrest warrant with other members of the Middle Pennsylvania Fugitive Task Force.

The task force had located a woman, who was wanted for making terroristic threats, at a home in the 1800 block of Mulberry Street at approximately 6:30 a.m. As they attempted to take the woman into custody a man inside the home opened fire on them, striking Deputy Marshal Hill and two local task force officers. One of the wounded officers was able to return fire and killed the subject.

Deputy Marshal Hill was transported to a local hospital where he succumbed to his wounds.

Deputy Marshal Hill was a U.S. Army veteran and had served with the United States Marshals Service for 11 years. He is survived by his wife and two children.

Rest in Peace Bro…We Got The Watch

Nemo me impune lacessit

Day is done, Gone the sun, From the lake, From the hills, From the sky. All is well, Safely rest, God is nigh. 

Officer Down

Detective Michael R. Doty
York County Sheriff's Office, South Carolina
End of Watch Wednesday, January 17, 2018
Age 37
Tour 12 years
Incident Date Tuesday, January 16, 2018

Detective Michael Doty succumbed to gunshot wounds sustained the previous day while searching for a subject who had shot a York County Sheriff's canine handler earlier in the night.

Deputies had originally responded to a domestic disturbance at which a man had attacked his wife before fleeing into a wooded area near his home. The man ambushed a canine officer who was attempting to locate him, wounding him. The subject also shot a law enforcement helicopter that was assisting with the search.

Following the wounding of the canine officer, a SWAT team responded to the scene to continue searching for the man in the 1400 block of South Parham Road.

The man setup a second ambush, wounding Detective Doty and two other members of the SWAT team before being shot and wounded.

Detective Doty was flown to a hospital in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he died the following day.

Detective Doty had served with the York County Sheriff's Office for 12 years.

Rest in Peace Bro…We Got The Watch

Nemo me impune lacessit

Day is done, Gone the sun, From the lake, From the hills, From the sky. All is well, Safely rest, God is nigh. 

Officer Down

Deputy Sheriff Daniel A. McCartney
Pierce County Sheriff's Department, Washington
End of Watch Monday, January 8, 2018
Age 34
Tour 9 years
Badge 484
Cause Gunfire
Incident Date Sunday, January 7, 2018

Deputy Sheriff Daniel McCartney was shot and killed after responding to a burglary in progress near 45th Avenue Court East and 200th Street East, in Frederickson, at approximately 11:30 pm.

Deputy McCartney was the first officer on scene and became engaged in a foot pursuit of at least one subject. The man opened fire on Deputy McCartney during the foot pursuit, mortally wounding him. Deputy McCartney was transported to St. Joseph Medical Center where he passed away at approximately 2:00 am.

One subject was found dead at the scene. A second subject was arrested the following day after a massive manhunt.

Deputy McCartney was a U.S. Navy veteran. He had served with the Pierce County Sheriff's Department for three years and had previously served with the Hoquiam Police Department for six years. He is survived by his wife and three sons.

Rest in Peace Bro…We Got The Watch

Nemo me impune lacessit

Day is done, Gone the sun, From the lake, From the hills, From the sky. All is well, Safely rest, God is nigh. 

We've got tonight...

I have to say the first time I heard this classic was when Kenny Rogers and Sheena Easton covered it in the early 80s. As usual, the original is better. Bob Seger's ballad to lonely people, looking for shelter, and what you do to get by. As far as I know Seger never did an "official" video for the song, but this one is very well done.

I've often said, today's "artists" are worthless. Someone like Seger (or Elton John, or Kris Kristofferson, Billy Joel, Prince) could say more in a line than J-Zee, Beyonce, or Eminem could put together in an album (Although I'm very impressed by Chris Stapleton).

I'll have limited internet access for the next few days, wife and I headed on a cruise. Enjoy, and have a great weekend.

Buses used for patrol....

I've often said, no matter what the context, if you in the public (e.g. walking on the street), you have no expectation of privacy. And knowing how dangerous distracted driving can be, I like this. Using the assets available to accomplish the mission.

Hopefully this will reduce accidents.

And I thought gun buybacks were idiotic.....

One of the classic cases of stupidity from the Bubba Clinton/Janet Reno years was buying back guns in the bigs cites. Basically you could walk up to a city official, hand over a gun, and get cash, or store card, or soemthing else of value. No questions asked. More than a few criminals dumped their weapons the used in crimes for some quick cash. Also, some things were shown by a study:

...So why don’t buybacks get guns off the street? For one thing, according to Alex Tabarrok, professor of economics at George Mason University, it’s impossible to significantly reduce the number of guns in a community with buyback events that collect, on average, fewer than 1,000 firearms. “In the United States, there are hundreds of millions of guns,” he says. “And even if a city buys up some of them, that’s not going to have any effect on how many guns people actually have. People can still go out and buy more guns.”

Moreover, the firearms that cities do collect aren’t likely to be the types used in crime. “The main drawback to gun buyback programs is that they tend to get junk guns or guns that have been with a family for a long period of time,” says James Pasco, executive director of the Fraternal Order of Police. “They’re not catching the nine-millimeter and forty-caliber semiautomatic handguns that are so prevalent in violent crime today...”

Well, not to be outdone with stupidity, we again have Baltimore:

Baltimore City Council Supports ‘GunBail’ Proposal

BALTIMORE – In a case of short-sighted thinking on display, the Baltimore City Council is resolved to support a proposal to accept weapons off the street in lieu of bail from an inmate booked for a criminal offense. The disagreeable part of the protocol is this: They are asking law enforcement to in essence “look the other way” regarding evidence that might be obtained from the firearm.

If I understand the proposal correctly, a defendant could be booked on a criminal offense, knowingly submit a firearm used in a homicide, and suddenly he has limited immunity because evidence obtained from the weapon could not be used against him in court.

Trevor Brooks, a convicted murderer who attended a Silicon Valley entrepreneurship program after getting out of prison forged the idea, reported The Baltimore Sun.

He wants to allow people use an app to turn in guns and make bail. Given the choice between giving up a gun or sitting in Central Booking, “they’re going to turn the guns in as fast as they can,” Brooks said...

Pardon me, I need a drink. I can only handle so much stupidity at a time.
­

Officer Down

Officer Chris Beaudion
Monroe Police Department, Louisiana
End of Watch Sunday, January 7, 2018
Age 26
Tour 1 year, 5 months

Officer Chris Beaudion was killed in a single vehicle crash at the intersection of South 2nd Street and Winnsboro Road at approximately 3:00 am.

His patrol car left the roadway and struck a tree, causing him to suffer fatal injuries.

Officer Beaudion had served with the Monroe Police Department for 17 months. He is survived by his wife, two children, and parents.

Rest in Peace Bro…We Got The Watch

Nemo me impune lacessit

Day is done, Gone the sun, From the lake, From the hills, From the sky. All is well, Safely rest, God is nigh. 

Officer Down

Lieutenant Christopher Robateau
Jersey City Police Department, New Jersey
End of Watch Friday, January 5, 2018
Age 49
Tour 23 years

Lieutenant Christopher Robateau was struck and killed by a vehicle while checking on the welfare of another driver who had been involved in an accident on the New Jersey Turnpike, near exit 14.

Lieutenant Robateau, who was in uniform on his way to work shortly after 6:30 am, had exited his vehicle and was walking toward the accident scene when another vehicle fatally struck him.

Lieutenant Robateau had served with the Jersey City Police Department for 23 years and was assigned to the East District. He is survived by his wife and three children.

Rest in Peace Bro…We Got The Watch

Nemo me impune lacessit

Day is done, Gone the sun, From the lake, From the hills, From the sky. All is well, Safely rest, God is nigh. 

What's going on in the World Today-180205

HYPERLINKS MAY REQUIRE AN EMAIL:

USA

NOTHING SIGNIFICANT TO REPORT

AFRICA

NOTHING SIGNIFICANT TO REPORT

ASIA

Australia to spend $3.1 billion to increase stake in global arms exports

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said on Monday Australian military equipment manufacturers will be offered government-backed loans as part of a A$3.8 billion ($3.1 billion) package to become one of the world’s top 10 defense exporters.

Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull attends the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Danang, Vietnam November 11, 2017. REUTERS/Jorge Silva
Australia said in 2016 it would boost defense spending by A$30 billion by 2021, purchasing frigates, armored personnel carriers, strike fighter jets, drones and a fleet of new submarines - many of which would be built at home.

The defense industry has struggled to obtain finance from traditional lenders that have been unwilling to fund the arms industry, so Australia has created a A$3.8 billion loan scheme for companies seeking finance to export military equipment...

CENTRAL/SOUTH AMERICA

Mexico to send troops to stem violence after record 25,000 murders

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican officials said on Sunday the government was set to unleash a new wave of troops to crack down on criminal groups in regions where a surge in violence led to more than 25,000 murders last year.

National Security Commissioner Renato Sales said federal police troops will work with local officials to round up known major criminals and bolster investigations.

The aim was “to recover peace and calm for all Mexicans,” he said. He did not provide details on the number of federal police to be deployed.

More than 25,000 murders were recorded last year as rival drug gangs increasingly splintered into smaller, more blood-thirsty groups after more than a decade of a military-led campaign to battle the cartels.

Violence is a central issue ahead of the presidential election in July. Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto’s ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party is trailing in third place in recent polls...

Mexico to send troops to stem violence after record 25,000 murders

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican officials said on Sunday the government was set to unleash a new wave of troops to crack down on criminal groups in regions where a surge in violence led to more than 25,000 murders last year.

A soldier stands guard next to a crime scene, where men were killed inside a home by unknown assailants, in the municipality of San Nicolas de los Garza, Mexico, January 27, 2018. Picture taken January 27, 2018. REUTERS/Jorge Lopez
National Security Commissioner Renato Sales said federal police troops will work with local officials to round up known major criminals and bolster investigations.

The aim was “to recover peace and calm for all Mexicans,” he said. He did not provide details on the number of federal police to be deployed.

More than 25,000 murders were recorded last year as rival drug gangs increasingly splintered into smaller, more blood-thirsty groups after more than a decade of a military-led campaign to battle the cartels....

EUROPE

Interpol circulates list of suspected Isis fighters believed to be in Italy

Exclusive: Interpol believes the 50 suspects, all Tunisian nationals, may be attempting to reach other European countries

Interpol has circulated a list of 50 suspected Islamic State fighters who it believes have recently landed in Italy by boat, and may be attempting to reach other European countries.

The list, obtained by the Guardian, was drafted by the general secretariat of the international police organisation. It was sent on 29 November to the Italian interior ministry, which subsequently distributed it to national anti-terrorism agencies across Europe.

The suspects listed are all Tunisian nationals, some of whom were identified by officials when they landed in Italy. The document shows their first names, surnames and dates of births.

Around 5,500 Tunisians were believed to have travelled to Isis territory in Syria and Iraq to fight for the terror group, according to UN estimates – more than any other country. Now, after the collapse of its “caliphate,” governments have expressed concern that former fighters may try to mount attacks in Europe....

AFGHANISTAN

NOTHING SIGNIFICANT TO REPORT

CHINA

China Strengthens Missile Defense Near N.Korean Border

By Lee Kil-seong

China is preparing for a potential war on the Korean Peninsula by reinforcing missile defenses near the border with North Korea, Radio Free Asia reported Friday.

RFA quoted a North Korean source in China as saying the Chinese military late last year deployed another missile defense battery at an armored division in Helong, west of Longjing in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture.

Military units in Yanbian were relocated from Heilongjiang Province, thus adding 300,000 troops along the border, the source added.

Now it is deploying missile defense batteries near North Korean reservoirs by the Apnok and Duman rivers.

Chinese troops in the border area could be swept away if the North tore down the banks of the reservoirs or they were destroyed by missiles or air strikes, the source added.

On Jan. 24, Taiwan's Central News Agency reported that the 78th Group Army, the first Chinese military unit that would cross the border into the North in the event of a war on the Korean Peninsula, has been armed with newest surface-to-air missiles against South Korean and U.S. aircraft and missiles.

Why Is China Buying Up Europe’s Ports?

State-owned port operators are the aggressive leading edge of Beijing’s massive Belt and Road project.

China’s trillion-dollar signature foreign-policy project, the Belt and Road Initiative, is often lampooned as just a fuzzy concept with little to show for it on the ground.

But in bustling ports from Singapore to the North Sea, state-owned Chinese firms are turning the idea into a reality with a series of aggressive acquisitions that are physically redrawing the map of global trade and political influence.

A pair of deep-pocketed Chinese behemoths, Cosco Shipping Ports and China Merchants Port Holdings, have gone on a buying binge of late, snapping up cargo terminals in the Indian Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Atlantic rim. Just last month, Cosco finalized the takeover of the terminal in Zeebrugge, Belgium’s second-biggest port, marking the Chinese firm’s first bridgehead in northwestern Europe.

That deal followed a raft of other acquisitions in Spain, Italy, and Greece in just the last couple of years. Chinese state firms, which once kept close to their home market, now control about one-tenth of all European port capacity...

China’s plan to use artificial intelligence to boost the thinking skills of nuclear submarine commanders

China is working to update the rugged old computer systems on nuclear submarines with artificial intelligence to enhance the potential thinking skills of commanding officers, a senior scientist involved with the programme told the South China Morning Post.

A submarine with AI-augmented brainpower not only would give China’s large navy an upper hand in battle under the world’s oceans but would push applications of AI technology to a new level, according to the researcher, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the project’s sensitivity.

“Though a submarine has enormous power of destruction, its brain is actually quite small,” the researcher said.

While a nuclear submarine depends on the skill, experience and efficiency of its crew to operate effectively, the demands of modern warfare could introduce variables that would cause even the smoothest-run operation to come unglued....
IRAN

NOTHING SIGNIFICANT TO REPORT

IRAQ

NOTHING SIGNIFICANT TO REPORT

ISRAEL

Israel to legalize settlement outpost deep in West Bank

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel on Sunday said it plans to legalize an isolated West Bank outpost in response to the murder of one of its residents in a shooting attack last month.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his weekly Cabinet meeting that his government will legalize Havat Gilad to "allow the continuing of normal life there."

"Whoever thought that through the reprehensible murder of a resident of Havat Gilad, a father of six, that our spirit can be broken and we can be weakened, is making a bitter mistake," Netanyahu said.

Last month, Rabbi Raziel Shevah, 35, was shot dead from a passing vehicle as he drove near his home in the unauthorized settlement outpost near the Palestinian city of Nablus. The Israeli military is still searching the area for suspects.

KOREAN PENNSULEA

South Korea Defense Budget Is Threat-Driven

South Korea’s defense ministry wants a hefty increase in spending next year on weapons to face the missile and nuclear threat from North Korea. The proposed budget also would allow South Korea’s own surface-to-surface missile capabilities to advance.

Development of the Korea Aerospace Industries KF-X fighter and LCH-LAH civil-military helicopter (see page 65) are additional major spending items proposed for 2018.

Of the total budget request of 43.11 trillion won ($US40 billion) for 2018, the ministry wants to spend 4.33 trillion won on systems to face North Korean missile and nuclear threats, 13.7% more than in 2017. That will include a ground-based, ballistic-missile early-warning radar, perhaps a second Elta EL/M-2080 Green Pine from Israel...

RUSSIA

NOTHING SIGNIFICANT TO REPORT

SYRIA

NOTHING SIGNIFICANT TO REPORT

MIDDLE EAST GENERAL

Yemen rebels say Saudi airstrike on police building kills 8

SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Yemeni rebels say an air raid by the Saudi-led coalition fighting them struck a police building in the rebel-controlled capital, Sanaa, killing eight people.

In a statement by their military media unit, the rebels, known as Houthis, say that a child was killed in the Sunday attack that badly damaged a department of records building and wounding some 58 people.

Security officials and witnesses said many of the dead were civilians, speaking on condition of anonymity because they feared retribution...

MISC
Thales Highlights Integrated Aviation Cybersecurity

Sometimes, products that don't appear at an airshow still dominate proceedings - the absence of the F-35 from Farnborough in 2014 was almost as much of a talking point as its appearance there two years later, for example. But if Thales manages to get Singapore discussing one major product line that it has deliberately chosen not to highlight on its stand this year, it will have made a major contribution not just to its own marketing, but perhaps to the cause of enhanced aviation safety generally.

Cyber is often described as the "fifth domain" after land, sea, air and space. Yet computer networks underlie every domain, and problems in one area can quickly spread. If the only people practicing cybersecurity and cyberdefense work in their own department, separate from the other domains, the outcomes will not be good.

Thales is taking a different tack: and this is why, at the Airshow this week, there will be no roped-off section of the company's stand detailing its cyber offerings. Instead, the company is keen to emphasize the importance of integrating cybersecurity thinking across all parts of the aviation ecosystem - civil and military, in the air or on the ground.

Officer Down

Trooper Michael J. Anson
New York State Police, New York
End of Watch Tuesday, January 2, 2018
Age 56
Tour 31 years
Badge 3795
Cause 9/11 related illness
Incident Date Tuesday, September 11, 2001
Weapon Aircraft; Passenger jet
Offender 19 suicide attackers

Trooper Michael Anson died as the result of cancer that he developed following his assignment to the search and recovery efforts at the World Trade Center site following the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks.

Trooper Anson had served with the New York State Police for 31 years and was assigned to Troop G. He is survived by his wife, three children, and brothers.

On the morning of September 11, 2001, seventy-two officers from a total of eight local, state, and federal agencies were killed when terrorist hijackers working for the al Qaeda terrorist network, headed by Osama bin Laden, crashed two of four hijacked planes into the World Trade Center towers in New York City. After the impact of the first plane, putting the safety of others before their own, law enforcement officers along with fire and EMS personnel, rushed to the burning Twin Towers of the World Trade Center to aid the victims and lead them to safety. Due to their quick actions, it is estimated that over 25,000 people were saved.

As the evacuation continued, the first tower unexpectedly collapsed due as a result of the intense fire caused by the impact. The second tower collapsed a short time later. 71 law enforcement officers, 343 members of the New York City Fire Department and over 2,800 civilians were killed at the World Trade Center site.

A third hijacked plane crashed into a field in rural Pennsylvania when the passengers attempted to re-take control of the plane. One law enforcement officer, who was a passenger on the plane, was killed in that crash.

The fourth hijacked plane was crashed into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, killing almost 200 military and civilian personnel. No law enforcement officers were killed at the Pentagon.

The terrorist attacks resulted in the declaration of war against the Taliban regime, the illegal rulers of Afghanistan, and the al Qaeda terrorist network which also was based in Afghanistan.

On September 9, 2005, all of the public safety officers killed on September 11, 2001, were posthumously awarded the 9/11 Heroes Medal of Valor by President George W. Bush.

The contamination in the air at the World Trade Center site caused many rescue personnel to become extremely ill, and eventually led to the death of several rescue workers.

On May 1, 2011 members of the United States military conducted a raid on a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan where Osama bin Laden was hiding. During the raid, they shot and killed bin Laden.

Rest in Peace Bro…We Got The Watch

Nemo me impune lacessit

Day is done, Gone the sun, From the lake, From the hills, From the sky. All is well, Safely rest, God is nigh. 

K9 Down

K9 Scout
Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, New York
End of Watch Thursday, January 18, 2018
Breed German Shepherd
Gender Male
Age 6
Tour 3 years, 6 months

K9 Scout died after a ball accidentally became lodged in his mouth, blocking his airway.

Scout was participating in an advanced training canine training exercise with other county and state police canines at a building in the 700 block of Starbuck Street in Watertown. Scout was given his ball as a reward during the training, but it became lodged in his mouth. The handlers immediately began giving aid to Scout and took him a veterinary hospital where he later died.

Scout had served with the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office for 3-1/2 years and was trained in explosives detection, handler protection, and tracking.

Rest in Peace Scout…till our next roll call at the Rainbow Bridge!

In Memory of all Police Dogs

They handled themselves with beauty & grace

And who could ever forget that beautiful face

Whether at work; or at home; whatever the test

They always worked hard; and did their best

They were real champions; at work or at play

But their lives were cut short; suddenly one day

While working on the job with their partner one day

They put themselves out on a limb; out into harms way

They gave the ultimate sacrifice; any dog can give

They gave up their life; so someone could live

The best of their breed; as his partner and anyone would say

Many hearts are now broken; that he had to prove it this way

Now as the trees are blowing in the gentle breeze

The sun is shining; thru the leaves on the trees

The meadows are green; and the grass grows tall

Off in the distance they can see a waterfall

As they look over the falls; down through the creek

The water flows gently; as a rabbit sneaks a peek

Far up above; in the deep blue sky

They see the birds soar high; as they fly by

They see animals playing; at the bridge by a waterfall

Chasing each other; and just having a ball

They play all day; from morning to night

There's no more rain; just warm sunlight

Off in the distance; they hear trumpets blow

Then all the animals look up; and notice a bright glow

The harps would play and the angels would sing

As they know they've come home; they've earned their wings

We remember that they died; in the line of duty

And are now with the Lord; sharing in heaven's beauty

Off to the meadows now; where they can play and roam free

With an occasional rest stop; under a tall oak tree

No more bad guys to chase; or bullets to take

Just a run through the meadow; down to the lake

A quick splash in the water; then back to the shore

Then it's off to the forest; to go play some more

These special dogs are back home; up in heaven above

They're cradled in God's arm's; and covered with His love

We'll light a candle for all of them; in the dark of night

In loving memory of all; these very special knights

By John Quealy