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From the Los Angeles Times

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Man charged with attempted assassination in White House shooting

by Michael A. Memoli

November 17, 2011

An Idaho man has been charged with attempting to assassinate President Obama in connection with a shooting incident at the White House on Friday night.

A criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania states that Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez, 21, "knowingly did attempt to kill the President of the United States." The charge carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Ortega-Hernandez was arrested in Indiana, Pa., on Wednesday, five days after a shooting incident near the National Mall.

The U.S. Secret Service, ATF, FBI, U.S. Park Police and the Washington Metropolitan Police Department had been working together to locate Ortega-Hernandez after law enforcement Friday responded to the sound of gunfire on Constitution Avenue, approximately 700 yards south of the White House.

A witness stated that a man stopped his car and began shooting through the passenger-side window in the direction of the White House.

On Tuesday, personnel discovered two rounds of ammunition on the White House grounds, at least one of which damaged historic exterior glass in a window above the Truman Balcony on the South Portico.

Charging documents state that Ortega-Hernandez owned an "AK-47 like gun," and that a witness who has known him said his statements about the government and Obama specifically had "gotten worse" in the last year.

Recently, according to the witness, Ortega-Hernandez had said he was "preparing for something," and that he believed Obama was "the devil" and had to be "taken care of."

Obama was not at the White House at the time of the incident; he was attending the Carrier Classic basketball game in Coronado, before leaving for an economic summit in Hawaii.

Magistrate Judge Cynthia R. Eddy ordered that Ortega-Hernandez remain detained pending further proceedings in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-assassination-charge-20111117,0,5798340.story

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Sheriff's Department reopens Natalie Wood case

The coroner originally ruled the actress' 1981 death an accident, but investigators want to talk to the captain of the yacht Wood and her husband were on the weekend she died off Santa Catalina.

by Richard Winton, Sam Allen and Andrew Blankstein, Los Angeles Times

November 18, 2011

Thirty years after Natalie Wood died off Santa Catalina Island, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department announced Thursday that it was reopening the investigation into one of Hollywood's most enduring mysteries.

Wood, 43, was boating off the island on Thanksgiving weekend 1981 with her husband, Robert Wagner, fellow actor Christopher Walken and others when she somehow went overboard and died. Officials at the time ruled her death an accident, but there has been much speculation since over whether there was more to the story.

Sheriff Lee Baca said detectives want to talk to the captain of the boat after learning of comments he recently made about what happened on board. Baca did not provide further details, adding only that the captain "made comments worthy of exploring."

A law enforcement source added that the department recently received a letter from an unidentified "third party" who said the captain had "new recollections" about the case. The source spoke on the condition of anonymity because the case was ongoing.

The captain, Dennis Davern, co-wrote the book "Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour" last year. In the book he described bitter arguments aboard the boat that weekend. In an interview last year on CNN, Davern said he believed the original investigation was woefully incomplete.

Davern could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Wagner released a statement through his spokesman expressing support for a new investigation into his wife's death.

Wagner says he "trusts they will evaluate whether any new information relating to the death of Natalie Wood Wagner is valid, and that it comes from a credible source or sources other than those simply trying to profit from the 30 year anniversary of her tragic death," Wagner's spokesman, Alan Nierob, said in a statement.

Wood and Wagner spent the holiday weekend on their 60-foot yacht, Splendour, along with Walken, who was Wood's co-star in the film "Brainstorm."

On the evening of Saturday, Nov. 28, the boat anchored and the trio had dinner at Doug's Harbor Reef restaurant on Catalina. Later, they returned to the yacht and had drinks. Wagner and Walken had an argument. Wagner said in a 2008 interview with The Times that the argument concerned how much of one's personal life should be sacrificed in pursuit of one's career and art.

Wagner and Walken eventually calmed down and said good night, Wagner said. But when he went to bed, Wood wasn't there.

Wagner thought his wife had taken a small inflatable boat by herself as she had done before, his spokesman said after the incident. But after 10 to 15 minutes passed without her returning, Wagner went to look for her on a small cruiser. When he couldn't find her, he contacted the harbor patrol.

Wood's body was discovered about 8 a.m. Sunday by authorities about a mile away from the yacht. The dinghy was found beached nearby.

A woman on another boat claimed to have heard cries for help about midnight Saturday, The Times reported. Other boat owners told the newspaper they heard no cries that night, but the weather was described as cold and rainy.

L.A. County Coroner Thomas T. Noguchi later ruled the death an accident, saying that Wood had slipped while trying to enter the dinghy and drowned. Bruises on Wood's left cheek were consistent with her having fallen and striking the yacht as she went into the water, he said at a news conference days after her death.

"It was not a homicide. It was not a suicide. It was an accident," Noguchi said.

The examination of Wood's body determined that she had a blood-alcohol level of 0.14%, and Noguchi commented that there was "much recreational drinking going on" that night.

Noguchi also described the disagreement between Wagner and Walken as a "nonviolent argument."

In the 2008 interview about his memoir, "Pieces of My Heart," Wagner said it was "very difficult, very painful" to write about his wife's death.

"I have gone over it so many millions of times with people. Nobody heard anything," Wagner said.

Wagner said the evidence suggests "she had slipped and rolled into the water, which makes a lot of sense because the boat — when they found it, it hadn't been started and the oars were all in the same position. There was no evidence that she tried to get in it."

The Sheriff's Department said it was "recently contacted" with new information about Wood's death. Producers from CBS' "48 Hours," who are working on a special segment with Vanity Fair magazine airing Saturday, said they contacted the Sheriff's Department after learning that detectives had new information in the case.

ARCHIVES: Natalie Wood's death

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-natalie-wood-20111118,0,5141657.story

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Guns and states' rights

Rep. Dan Lungren of California gets it — he voted against a bill that threatens state gun regulations.

November 18, 2011

States' rights is one of those high principles that Republicans are willing to fight for — except when they aren't. So we have to give credit to Rep. Dan Lungren, California's former attorney general and now a congressman from Gold River, because he was the sole GOP member of the House Judiciary Committee to live up to his party's constitutional ideals by voting against a recent bill that steps on state gun regulations.

The bill, known as the National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act, was approved in the House on Wednesday by a 272-154 vote, with 43 Democrats siding with 229 Republicans in the "yes" column. If it ever became law — which isn't likely because the Senate isn't expected to take it up — it would render moot California's efforts to protect citizens from those carrying concealed firearms. This state sets a high hurdle for people seeking permits to carry hidden guns in public, requiring them to show good cause for why they need a permit, undergo background checks and complete an intensive safety course. Yet under the House bill, those with permits from any state (including Utah, where anyone who passes a quick gun-familiarity course and a criminal check can get a permit and even out-of-state residents are eligible), can carry guns in any other state. The sole exception is Illinois, the only state that doesn't issue concealed-weapons permits and thus doesn't have to accept permits issued elsewhere.

The bill is largely a symbolic gesture aimed at shoring up support from the GOP base during an election campaign and ensuring that lawmakers have the blessing of the powerful National Rifle Assn., but it still took courage for Lungren, who generally supports gun rights, to take a stand against it. "As a former attorney general, I continue to have a deep and abiding commitment to preserving states' rights," he said. It's a principled stance, because unlike most other civil rights issues, there is a strong justification for letting different regions set their own gun-control policies.

It's no surprise that highly urban states susceptible to gang, drug and gun crimes tend to put more restrictions on firearms than more rural states. When the streets of cities such as Los Angeles, Long Beach and Oakland are flooded with guns and the blood of gun-violence victims, there is a strong public interest in regulating firearms, an interest that is far weaker in states such as Utah and Montana, where guns are used mainly for hunting and self-defense. That doesn't mean there should be no federal laws on guns, because minimal standards to maintain public safety are needed everywhere, but it does mean that Utah's gun rules shouldn't be imposed on California and vice versa. It's nice to see there's one Republican in Congress, at least, who gets that.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opinionla/la-ed-guns-20111118,0,5990393,print.story

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From Google News

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Connecticut

Esserman brings back community policing

18 years after he left his post as NHPD assistant chief, Esserman is returning to a department “enthusiastically waiting for direction,” NHPD spokesman David Hartman said.

The Elm City's homicide rate is at a 17-year high — the 30th murder of 2011 occurred last Sunday night — and a major part of the city's solution to its crime problem, Mayor John DeStefano Jr. and outgoing NHPD Chief Frank Limon announced in an Oct. 6 press conference, will lie in a return to a strategy known as community policing.

12 days later, DeStefano announced the appointment of a new chief: Esserman, who city spokesman Adam Joseph called one of the “founding fathers” of community policing in New Haven.

In 1991, as assistant chief, Esserman helped shape a foundation for what community policing meant in the Elm City. While it found success in reducing crime, the strategy has since fallen out of practice in the department, in part due to a decline in the number of officers. Now, Esserman said, the department needs to return its focus to the community.

“My marching orders are firm: address the violence and connect to the community,” he said at the Oct. 18 City Hall press conference announcing his appointment. “In my day [New Haven] was the center of the country for community policing. It is time to regain that reputation.”

City Hall and police officials said the direction of the department now lies in a renewed focus on a proactive strategy that will put officers on walking and bike patrols in New Haven neighborhoods. This shift follows a national trend in again moving toward community-oriented law enforcement strategies — police departments in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles have all placed a renewed emphasis on strengthening community relations in the past several years. Still, what defines community policing — a buzzword during the mayoral and aldermanic elections earlier this month — is a topic of continued debate. Responsibility for developing and executing the strategy falls to the new chief.

A ‘DIFFERENT LOOK'

In the 1970s and '80s, policing typically involved contentious relations between cops and the community, Hartman said. The NHPD's strategy was primarily reactionary — police officers were dispatched after a citizen reported a crime.

In the early 1990s, NHPD Chief Nicholas Pastore and Esserman transitioned the department from a militant engagement with the community to one of intelligence sharing. They moved officers away from their desks and cars and put them on walking patrol on the streets. Officers roamed small neighborhood areas, getting to know the community and, in turn, building trust and familiarity with citizens, Hartman explained.

“Community policing stems from a combined community and department's realization there had been a disconnect between the two groups,” Hartman said.

The new form of policing was “gentler, kinder” and tried to align community and police interests, said Richard Epstein, the current chairman of the Board of Police Commissioners.

“When the police treat people right, they will respond accordingly and feel more comfortable interacting with them,” said Bishop Theodore Brooks, a commission member.

The NHPD did not universally welcome the new strategy. Ward 12 Alderman Gerald Antunes, a former NHPD officer who now serves as vice-chair of the Board of Alderman's public safety committee, said he felt officers took some time to understand what community policing entailed.

“Nobody [in Connecticut] had done it before so there was certainly some uncertainty about what it meant to do community policing,” Epstein said. “But I think the statistics bear out its success.”

The number of rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults all dropped at least 30 percent through the decade. The homicide count, which sat at 34 in 1990, had dropped to 20 by 1995 and did not exceed 21 again until 2006.

Though the NHPD never completely phased out community policing strategies, Hartman said, the department lessened its focus on the approach as officers retired and, due to budget constraints, were replaced by fewer hires. As a result, an increasing number of officers had to devote their time to response and enforcement, he added.

“What you lose with officers [on walking beats] is the ability for that same police officer to quickly respond some distance away,” Hartman said. “There's a balancing act that needs to occur.”

By February 2009, cops were no longer patrolling New Haven in walking or bicycle beats except downtown, Hartman said. At that time, DeStefano called community policing a “passive” strategy, helpful to citizens only at the moments where a cop appeared at somebody's door.

BACK ON THE BEAT

DeStefano's line has since changed: The current rate of violent crimes in the Elm City is “unaccpetably high,” he and Limon agreed at the Oct. 6 press conference announcing a renewed focus on community policing.

“What changed is citizens were telling us they wanted to see cops on the beat,” DeStefano said.

After introducing community polciing in New Haven to help improve crime rates, Esserman brought similar on-the-ground tactics to Stamford, Conn., and Providence, R.I., where he served as the chief of the cities' police departments, beginning in 1998 and 2002 respectively. Now, he returns to the NHPD to once again spearhead community policing. The department's plans include putting officers on walking beats each day in 10 neighborhoods in order to increase police visibility and develop connections with community members, Assistant Chief Patrick Redding said. Additionally, between 10 and 12 officers will be trained for bike patrols, and district managers will monitor crime data and assign beat patrols to crime hot spots, he added.

The application of community policing principles “attacks the root causes” of violent crime, Hartman said, and can be invaluable in providing information and on-the-ground intelligence necessary to solve cases.

“Establishing ties with the community is going to be very important in helping with some of the concerns we're now facing, like the increasing number of homicides,” said Donald Morris, head of the Brotherhood Leadership Summit, a local anti-violence group.

Though the new community policing model may be similar to that of the 1990s, Redding said it is “smarter.” In the 1990s, the department assigned officers to a fixed beat, but the new strategy calls for targeted engagement based on day-to-day crime statistics, Hartman explained.

Though Esserman hopes to apply the same techniques that succeeded in lowering the murder rate through the 1990s, DeStefano admitted results will not come immediately: Community policing will serve to enhance community cooperation with law enforcement over time, improving the quality of intelligence that can be used to prevent future crimes. But despite the uncertainty, the city's political leaders appear to have reached a consensus that now is the right time for the NHPD to bring the strategy back — and to welcome Esserman's return.

http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/2011/nov/18/esserman-returns-with-community-policing/?print

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Dayton police receive national award

November 17, 2011

DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) - The Dayton Police Department has being honored with the 2011 Community Policing Award, presented by the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and Cisco.

The award recognizes Dayton's “Urban High School Disorder Reduction Project,” a community policing initiative at Belmont High School that is credited with reducing reported incidents of crime and disorderly behavior by nearly 80 percent. The project was implemented in cooperation with Dayton Public Schools and the Montgomery County Juvenile Court and has also been recognized by Ohio Crime Prevention Association.

“We are very honored to receive this prestigious award,” Police Chief Richard Biehl said. “Like any true community policing effort, our project involved a partnership between Police Officers and other local organizations and individuals. We're especially grateful to the Dayton Public Schools and to the Montgomery County Juvenile Courts for their role in this effort. This award reflects the creativity and persistence of everyone involved to create the positive results we have seen at Belmont High School.”

Chief Biehl accepted the award on behalf of the Dayton Police Department at the November 16 meeting of the City Commission.

Community policing—a practice used widely by Dayton Police Department—involves actively engaging the community in problem solving and crime prevention and is broadly recognized as a way to build stronger, safer communities.

Dayton is the award winner among cities with a population between 100,000 and 250,000. Three American cities and one Canadian city are honorees in other population categories.

http://www.wdtn.com/dpp/news/dayton-police-receive-national-award

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From the FBI

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Terrorists, Spies, and Hackers
The New National Security Landscape

11/17/11

Cyber thieves in Eastern Europe drain bank accounts in America. Spies steal industry secrets and sell them overseas. And alone in their bedrooms, disaffected youths become radicalized by Internet propaganda and vow to wage jihad.

It is difficult to remember a time when Americans did not have to worry about terrorists plotting violence on U.S. soil and criminals reaching through the Internet to target individuals, businesses, and government, but that is how drastically the world has changed since the 9/11 attacks.

“The horrific events of that day were the prelude to a decade of political, economic, and cultural transformation,” said FBI Director Robert S. Mueller, “and globalization and technology have accelerated these changes.”

The hyper-connectivity that helped spawn this new globalization is empowering “both friend and foe alike,” Mueller said this afternoon during a speech in San Francisco. “Today, our world can change in the blink of an eye. … If we in the FBI fail to recognize how the world is changing, the consequences can be devastating.”

Mueller noted that “terrorists, spies, and hackers are always thinking of new ways to harm us.” He provided examples of several recent cases (see sidebar) and outlined how the Bureau plans to stay ahead of these threats while remaining ever-mindful of protecting Americans' civil liberties.

Regarding terrorism, al Qaeda has been weakened since 9/11, and dozens of attacks have been prevented. But “core al Qaeda operating out of Pakistan remains committed to high-profile attacks against the West,” Mueller said—a fact confirmed by records seized from Usama Bin Laden's compound after his death. In Yemen, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has attempted several attacks on the U.S., Mueller added. And of particular concern are homegrown terrorists who may become self-radicalized online and are willing to act alone, which makes them difficult to find and to stop.

In the area of espionage, “nations will always try to learn one another's secrets to gain political, military, or economic advantage,” Mueller said. And because “so much sensitive data is now stored on computer networks,” he added, “our adversaries often find it as effective, or even more effective, to steal secrets through cyber intrusions.”

And while state-sponsored cyber espionage is a growing problem, “it is but one aspect of the cyber threat,” Mueller pointed out. Hacktivist groups, for example, are engaging in digital anarchy, and cyber attacks against our critical infrastructure are a real possibility.

The FBI must stay one step ahead of these threats by gathering and sharing intelligence and continuing to emphasize our partnerships. “No single agency, company, or nation can defeat these complex, global threats alone,” Mueller said.

He also noted that the FBI needs the right tools to address evolving cyber threats, especially with regard to lawfully intercepting electronic communications from social networks. “Laws covering this area have not been updated since 1994—a lifetime ago in the Internet age,” Mueller said. “So we are working with Congress, the courts, our law enforcement partners, and the private sector to ensure that our ability to intercept communications is not eroded by advances in technology.”

While the Bureau must change to combat evolving threats, “our values can never change,” Mueller said. “The rule of law will remain the FBI's guiding principle. In the end, we know we will be judged not only by our ability to keep Americans safe, but also by whether we safeguard the liberties for which we are fighting.”

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