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NYPD officer's act of kindness goes viral on Facebook
from FoxNews.com
An NYPD officer's act of kindness has gone viral on Facebook.
Jennifer Foster, a Florence, Ariz., tourist, posted a photograph of the officer giving a homeless man a pair of boots and socks on a frigid night in Times Square on Nov. 17.
The image became an instant hit on the NYPD's Facebook page. More than 308,861 users "liked" his generosity as of Thursday morning.
Newsday identified him as Larry DePrimo of Holbrook, Long Island. He's assigned to the 6th Precinct in Manhattan.
The homeless man said he'd never had a pair of shoes. DePrimo purchased a pair of insulated boots and thermal socks and put them on the man's feet.
DePrimo said the man "smiled from ear to ear. It was like you gave him a million dollars."
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/11/29/nypd-officer-act-kindness-goes-viral-on-facebook/
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New York City celebrates day without violent crime
For the first time in living memory, New York has spent a day entirely without violent crime.
The city police department's chief spokesman said that Monday was the most bloodshed-free 24-hour period in recent history.
Not a single murder, shooting, stabbing or other incident of violent crime was reported for a whole day.
Despite a July spike in homicides, the city's murder rate is on target to hit its lowest point since 1960.
Just a few months ago, residents were living through what one tabloid newspaper called the "summer of blood".
Aggressive prevention tactics
Despite the fall in homicides, statistics point to a 3% overall rise in crime.
A New York detective recounts his days running the anti-pickpocket unit
There has also been a 9% increase in larceny, which police blame on a surge in smartphone thefts.
But killings are now down 23% compared with last year, which represents a 50-year low.
There have been 366 murders so far this year in New York City, compared with 472 at this time last year.
Experts say such a low number of homicides is highly unusual for a US city of eight million people.
Gang-plagued Chicago, Illinois, has chalked up 462 murders this year, despite having a population of about 2.7 million people.
There have been 301 murders in 2012 in the city of Philadelphia, which has 1.5 million people.
Some experts are praising the New York police department's aggressive crime-prevention tactics, notably the so-called Stop And Frisk policy, which has rooted out dozens of illegal guns.
But critics argue that it has led to hundreds of thousands of young blacks and Latinos being stopped without cause.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-20536201
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From ICE
HSI arrests man who allegedly threatened to kill Texas police, their families
PECOS, Texas — A local man who threatened to kill area law enforcement officers and members of their families remains in federal custody after special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) arrested him Tuesday.
Jacob Ramos Esparza, 30, of Pecos, was arrested about 1:30 a.m. outside a Pecos truck stop.
He is scheduled to have his detention hearing at 10 a.m. Thursday in Alpine, Texas, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Dwight Goains.
A federal complaint filed Tuesday charges Esparza with unlawfully, knowingly and intentionally using interstate communications to threaten to injure a person. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
According to the criminal complaint, Esparza was responsible for posting several death threats to Internet chat forums that targeted the Fort Stockton (Texas) Police Department officers and their families, as well as Texas police departments in Pecos, Big Spring and Midland, and the Midland County Sheriff's Office. Additional threats were made through emails, and several contained videos depicting graphic violence to taunt law enforcement. Some of the threats included the intent to use chemical weapons, car bombs and high-caliber munitions.
HSI special agents believe that among the threats Esparza allegedly made, were some posted by username "El Diablo," offering a reward for the head of a local police officer. El Diablo further threatened to "unleash 15 pipe bombs" around the Texas cities of Pecos, Midland and Odessa. He also threatened to place pipe bombs in public places Dec. 25 to "create carnage unimaginable," and kill Fort Stockton police officers and their families using large-caliber weapons, chemical weapons and car bombs.
Dennis A. Ulrich, special agent in charge of HSI El Paso, said: "HSI takes seriously all threats against law enforcement officers. Our special agents in west Texas worked cooperatively and vigorously with our local, state and federal law enforcement partners. This arrest exemplifies the efficiency and force-multiplying effect of law enforcement agencies working together."
The following law enforcement agencies assisted with this investigation: the FBI; Fort Stockton, Pecos and Midland police departments; and Ector and Midland county sheriff's offices.
A criminal complaint is merely a charge and should not be considered as evidence of guilt. The defendant is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
http://www.ice.gov/news/releases/1211/121128pecos.htm
