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Idaho
Community Policing Starts Up in Cassia County
by LAURIE WELCH
BURLEY • Jose Magana set a sprinkler on the corner of his Burley lawn Friday and looked up slightly perplexed as Cassia County Sheriff's Deputy Cpl. Clay Anderson stopped his patrol car and approached him.
Anderson shook Magana's hand, introduced himself and began chatting about measures Magana could take to thicken up his lawn.
“I have seen more officers around,” Magana said, even though, he works long hours and is often not home.
Under a new community-policing program, Burley residents will be able to have direct contact with the deputies assigned to their section of the city and provide the officers with tips about crimes in their neighborhoods.
Anderson said people have been receptive to the new program — if not somewhat surprised by the impromptu visits.
“I stopped and helped one elderly couple load some furniture,” Anderson said. “They seemed kind of shocked but grateful.”
Cassia County Sheriff Jay Heward said all city deputies are still required to patrol the entire city. They are now also assigned a section of the city where they will spend extra time getting to know the residents and the specific law enforcement problems in that area.
The deputies hand out their personal business cards with a phone number that connects the caller to their voicemail, so people can leave tips.
Heward said the deputies will continue responding to crime-related calls and accidents but the community policing will help balance out their time.
“The community policing concept is not new but it's never been done here before,” Heward said.
Under the program, the city was divided into three sections. Area 1 runs from the city limits south to 19th Street. Area 2 stretches from 19th Street to 10th Street. Area 3 runs from 10th Street to Interstate 84. The east and west boundaries in each area are 150 E. Road to 200 W. Road, to allow coverage in the city's impact zones.
“Community policing gives the deputies a sense of ownership of their areas,” Heward said. “When you are out in the neighborhoods like that, you are empowering the community to help you.”
Heward said the deputies are responding positively to the idea.
“I think it helps us out and helps the public see we're not just out there busting people. It lets them see we're not bad people and that we're out here to help,” Anderson said.
So far, Heward said, the department has received some graffiti tips from residents, and he is sure other crime tips will start to come in as the officers make more contacts.
The new program went into effect in January after Heward took office.
The community-policing program was one of the promises Heward made to voters when he ran for office in November.
Heward said many people have never had any direct contact with police officers.
“We want people to know if they see something strange, they can call us or call 911 if it's an emergency,” Heward said. “That's what we are here for. I think it will pay us back. We've got to have the public's help and we need everyone to watch out for one another.”
http://magicvalley.com/news/local/mini-cassia/community-policing-starts-up-in-cassia-county/article_2c8cbf4a-b9d6-11e2-8637-001a4bcf887a.html
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Obama praises hero NYPD cop and girlfriend during White House ceremony
NYPD detective Ivan Marcano received a shout-out from Obama during the National Association of Police Organizations 2013 TOP COPS recognition ceremony. The president talked about how, while off duty, Marcano helped out a cabbie who was being robbed. He was out that night with his girlfriend, Hilda Miolan, who Obama said deserved ‘a really nice dinner.'
by Dan Friedman
WASHINGTON — An impressed President Obama singled out courageous NYPD cop Ivan Marcano — and his surprised girlfriend — at a White House ceremony Saturday for heroic cops from around the country.
Marcano, one of two of the 43 officers honored Saturday who Obama cited by name, was off duty, driving through the Bronx with his girlfriend, Hilda Miolan, on Oct. 24 when he spotted two armed suspects robbing a 60-year-old cabbie.
When Marcano stopped and identified himself as a police officer, one suspect immediately opened fire, wounding the officer in the arm and chest, inches from his heart.
As Miolan, who Obama joked was probably “not very happy with” Marcano, drove him to the hospital, he saw the suspects and an accomplice. They had just crashed into a livery cab, jumped a curb on Burnside Ave. and ditched the car. Clutching his chest to keep pressure on his wound, Marcano jumped out of his car and approached them. As one, 18-year-old Prince James, reportedly fired again, Marcano, a righty shooting left-handed, fatally shot James in the head.
“He wasn't on the clock when any of this happened,” Obama said. “This was his date night. It's unbelievable.”
The President then asked Miolan to stand for applause.
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/obama-praises-hero-nypd-girlfriend-ceremony-article-1.1341515
