"News of the Week"   Daily Local & Regional NewsWatch March, 2018 - Week 4

MJ Goyings ~~~~~~~~ Many thanks to our very own "MJ" Goyings, a resident of Ohio, for her daily research that provides us with the news related material that appears on the LACP & NAASCA web sites.

Texas

Austin police warn of 'serial bomber' after fourth explosion shows 'higher level of sophistication'

by the Associated Press

Fear escalated across Austin on Monday after the fourth bombing this month — this time, a blast that was triggered by a tripwire and demonstrated what police said was a "higher level of sophistication" than the package bombs used in previous attacks.

Two men in their 20s were wounded Sunday night as they walked along a street and were hospitalized in stable condition. The three earlier bombings since March 2 left two people dead and two wounded.

"We are clearly dealing with what we believe to be a serial bomber at this point, based on the similarities between now what is the fourth device" and the previous ones, Police Chief Brian Manley said.

He said investigators have yet to establish a motive.

"Is this terrorism? Is this hate-related?" Manley asked. He said investigators will "have determine if we see a specific ideology behind this."

He said the blast involved a tripwire, unlike the first three attacks, in which package bombs were left on people's doorsteps. That represents a "significant change," in that the previous bombings appeared targeted, while the latest one would have hurt any random person walking by, Manley said.

The device this time entailed "a higher level of sophistication, a higher level of skill," the chief said.

Authorities canvassed the area in search of anything suspicious, and residents were warned to remain indoors and to call 911 if they needed to leave their homes. Manley asked anyone with surveillance cameras at their homes to make the footage available in case suspicious vehicles or people could be seen.

Sunday night's explosion happened in the southwestern Austin neighborhood of Travis Country. That is far from the sites of the earlier bombings, which occurred over two-plus weeks in residential neighborhoods east of Interstate 35.

The 22- and 23-year-old men injured this time are white, unlike the victims in the earlier blasts, who were black or Hispanic.

Manley warned people not to touch suspicious bags, boxes or backpacks, especially if they had wires protruding.

"We need people paying attention to suspicious objects," the chief said.

Mayor Steve Adler said the latest explosion further raised anxieties in the city.

"That concern is legitimate and real," Adler said, adding that residents should be reassured by the massive police response to the attacks. Hundreds of federal agents are investigating, along with Austin police.

"That anxiousness is going to continue until we can find the answer," Adler said.

Spring break ends Monday for the University of Texas and many area school districts, meaning people who were out of town have returned home to heightened fears.

The university's campus police warned returning students to be wary and to tell their classmates about the danger, saying, "We must look out for one another." None of the four attacks happened close to the campus near the heart of Austin.

Austin's school district announced that buses wouldn't be going into the Travis Country neighborhood and that any "tardies or absences due to this situation will be excused."

But concern spread well past the immediate blast site.

Andrew Zimmerman, 44, a coffee shop worker on the city's west side, said he's lived in Austin his entire life.

"This makes me sick," Zimmerman said, noting the use of a tripwire adds a "new level" of suspected professionalism that makes it harder to guard against such attacks.

"That's what scares me a little bit," he added.

Police said Sunday's victims were hospitalized with injuries that weren't life-threatening.

The latest explosion came hours after authorities raised the reward by $50,000 for information leading to the arrest of whoever is responsible for the first three explosions. It now totals $115,000.

The PGA's Dell Technologies Match Play tournament is scheduled to begin in Austin on Wednesday, and dozens of the world's top golfers are set to begin arriving Tuesday.

http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-austin-explosion-20180318-story.html

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Texas

5 bombs in 19 days have Texas police, federal agents scrambling for answers

by Eliott C. McLaughlin

Five bombings in 19 days have left the Texas capital on edge, with Austin police warning the public not to take chances : If it looks suspicious -- whether it's a package, box or backpack -- do not approach it.

While authorities are offering a six-figure reward for information leading to an arrest in the bombings, which have killed two people , the latest attacks followed different patterns.

Where the first three package bombs were left on people's doorsteps or porches and killed or injured minorities, the fourth bomb was left on the side of the road in a predominantly white neighborhood and may have been triggered by a tripwire. The fifth bomb went off at a FedEx ground sorting facility, about an hour's drive from Austin.

Still, investigators are operating under the belief all the bombs are related . They suspect a serial bomber is behind the violence. Here's a look at what police say about each attack:

March 2

The first blast was reported about 6:55 a.m. in the Harris Ridge neighborhood of north Austin. It was a powerful device, essentially a pipe bomb, in a normal-size delivery box, which would be a theme for the first three bombings.

Anthony Stephan House, 39, died from injuries he suffered after opening the package.

His LinkedIn profile said he was a senior project manager for Texas Quarries and participated in commercial projects throughout the state, including at University of Texas properties and the Phillips 66 headquarters in Houston.

March 12

The first of two bombs that day, it was detonated around 6:44 a.m. in the city's East MLK neighborhood. Like the bomb 10 days earlier, it had been left at the victim's home and it appeared to have been hand-delivered rather than by any courier service. The bomb detonated when the victim brought it inside and opened it.

It killed 17-year-old Draylen Mason, a promising student who played stand-up bass in a youth orchestra and was taking college classes while in high school. His mother was injured in the bombing. Neighbors saw her in the yard covering her face with her hands and brought her blankets because the blast had ripped off some of her clothing, said Anne Marie Castillo, who lives five houses down from Mason.

Mason and House were both African-American.

"(Mason) was a young guy with so much future and potential. We talked a lot about college. He hugged me every morning before class," Austin Community College professor Samuel Osemene said.

March 12 again

Police were processing the scene at the East MLK bombing when another bomb erupted in the Montopolis neighborhood of southeast Austin, a few miles from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.

The midday blast left a 75-year-old Hispanic woman badly injured, spurring police to leave open the possibility of hate crimes, given the victims were, at this point, all minorities.

"We believe that the recent explosive incidents that have occurred in the city of Austin were meant to send a message ," Austin police Chief Brian Manley said.

March 18

This was the first explosion to break with the pattern of doorstep deliveries. Instead, this bomb was left on the side of the road in the upscale Travis Country neighborhood of southwest Austin. It could have maimed any passer-by , police said.

Two white men, a 22- and 23-year-old, who were walking alongside the road when the bomb detonated, were taken to a hospital with serious but non-life threatening injuries.

Despite the new modus operandi, Manley said investigators believe the bombings are connected. Hundreds of federal agents are now involved in the investigation.

March 20

"A single package" exploded at a FedEx facility in Schertz, Texas, outside San Antonio, injuring one of the company's employees.

FBI San Antonio spokeswoman Michelle Lee said that, based on preliminary evidence at the scene, investigators suspect it could be related to the Austin explosions.

If that's true, it would make this explosive device the first that was actually shipped.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/19/us/austin-explosions-bomb-timeline/index.html

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Texas

Suspect in Austin Bombings Blew Himself Up, Police Say

by Richard Perez-Pena

A suspect in the series of bombings that have terrorized the city of Austin, Tex., died early Wednesday, blowing himself up in his vehicle as officers closed in on him, the authorities said.

The Austin police chief, Brian Manley, described the suspect as a 24-year-old white man, without releasing any more information. Officials did not rule out the possibility that the man had accomplices.

“We do not understand what motivated him to do what he did,” Chief Manley said.

Law enforcement officials cautioned that the bomber could have planted other explosives that have not yet detonated. “We still need to remain vigilant,” Chief Manley said. “We do not know where he has been in the past 24 hours.”

He added, “This investigation is still underway, so we cannot say that this was an individual acting on their own.”

In a Twitter post , President Trump praised law enforcement officials for their work in identifying and locating the suspect.

Officials expressed confidence that they knew the identity of the dead man, but Chief Manley said his name would not be released until the body had been positively identified by a medical examiner and the man's family had been notified.

The suspect is believed to be responsible for at least six bombs that killed at least two people and wounded five . Four bombs detonated in various locations in Austin where they had been left. One detonated at a FedEx distribution center in Schertz, Tex., near San Antonio, and another was found, unexploded, in the same facility.

“There were several leads that led us to this person,” including surveillance video, Chief Manley said.

The attacks started the morning of March 2, when a package bomb detonated on the porch of an Austin home, killing Anthony Stephan House, 39. That was followed 10 days later by two bombs outside homes , one of which killed a 17-year-old boy.

The first three bombs were apparently detonated by being picked up or jostled. Later, a package bomb exploded outside another Austin home, set off by a tripwire. The bombs at the FedEx center were found on Tuesday; officials have refused to say to whom they were addressed or whether they were bound for Austin.

“Within the past 24 to 36 hours, we started getting information on one person of interest,” Chief Manley said. “This person of interest ultimately moved to being a suspect.”

The suspect's vehicle was traced to a hotel in Round Rock, just north of Austin, he said, where a SWAT team surreptitiously surrounded the hotel and called other specialized units. But before those teams could arrive, the suspect drove away.

Officers followed the suspect, who stopped in a ditch off Interstate 35, and SWAT officers approached the vehicle on foot, the chief said.

“The suspect detonated a bomb inside of the vehicle, knocking one officer back” and slightly injuring him, he said. Another officer fired his gun at the vehicle.

Michael Luna, a guest at a Red Roof Inn near the confrontation, told a local news channel that he heard the explosion from the bomb, which sounded as if it had gone off between 100 and 200 yards from him, when he was outside smoking a cigarette in the parking lot. Mr. Luna, who said he had been in the military, said that the explosion sounded like two grenades going off at the same time, and that he heard a pop afterward that may have been gunfire.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/21/us/austin-bombings-suspect.html

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Maryland

Three injured in shooting at St. Mary's County high school in Maryland

by Talia Richman, Jessica Anderson and Colin Campbell

Three people were injured in a shooting at Great Mills High School in Southern Maryland on Tuesday morning, according to a county spokesman.

No fatalities have been confirmed in the shooting at the school at 21130 Great Mills Road, which happened just before 8 a.m., county spokesman Tony Jones said from the emergency operations center. Two of the victims are students, Jones said. None of the victims' conditions were released.

The St. Mary's County school was on lockdown and students are being evacuated, Jones said. It's unclear where in the school the shooting happened.

“The building is orderly and the Sheriff's Office is conducting an investigation,” St. Mary's County Public Schools said on Twitter.

Parents are being asked to meet their children at a reunification site at Forrest Career Technnical Center in Leonardtown. Details about any injuries or the person who fired shots was not immediately available.

“There has been an incident at Great Mills High School,” the department tweeted. “Parents please DO NOT respond to the school.”

Senior Terrence Rhames was standing with his friends outside their first-period class around 8 a.m. when he heard a shot. He said he knew instantly what the loud crack meant.

He started running, heading to a first-floor bathroom before thinking to himself, “This is a dead end.” He turned to instead sprint toward the nearest exit. Out of the corner of his eye, Rhames said, he saw a girl fall.

“I just thank god I'm safe,” said Rhames, 18. “I just want to know who did it and who got injured.”

Great Mills, which enrolls about 1,600 students, is about 90 miles outside of Baltimore.

St. Mary's Ryken High School, a private school about 15 minutes northwest of Great Mills, went into lockdown around 9 a.m., according to Brad Chamberlain, dean of academics.

“We're getting conflicting reports,” Chamberlain said.

The incident comes just over a month after a deadly rampage in a Florida high school. Seventeen people died in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, catalyzing a national conversation about gun violence in schools.

Last Wednesday, Great Mills students participated in a nationwide “school walkout” on the one-month anniversary of the Parkland shooting. The students called for an end to gun violence and more school safety measures, according to local news reports.

One of the student activists from Marjory Stoneman Douglas tweeted her anger about the Great Mills incident.

“Less than a WEEK ago Great Mills High School students walked out with us to protest gun violence...now they're experiencing it for themselves,” Jaclyn Corin wrote. “The state of our country is disgusting - I'm so sorry, Great Mills.”

This weekend, thousands of students are expected to flood Washington for the “March for Our Lives,” a national protest to demand an end to mass shooting in schools.

Gov. Larry Hogan said he was “closely monitoring” the situation at Great Mills, and is on his way to the scene. Sen. Ben Cardin is also en route.

Maryland State Police “is in touch with local law enforcement and ready to provide support. Our prayers are with students, school personnel, and first responders,” Hogan tweeted.

Maryland State Police troopers, agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosive's Hyattsville offices, and FBI agents are also assisting.

Less than a month ago, after the Parkland shooting, Hogan proposed spending $125 million next year to enhance security at schools in the state, including by reinforcing doors and installing panic buttons to prevent and react to shooters.

He also suggested $55 million for two ongoing spending initiatives, including $50 million for “school safety grants” that could pay for armed school resource officers, technology and counselors at public schools, and increased funding for the state's Center for School Safety, which would include money to hire social media experts to scour the internet looking for threats.

The proposals are currently being considered by lawmakers in Annapolis, who have already given initial approval to three tougher gun-control laws.

Education secretary Betsy DeVos called the incident at Great Mills a “horrifying situation,” and said her agency stands ready to help.

“Our hearts and prayers are with those impacted, and our deep appreciation goes out to the first responders,” she wrote on Twitter.

Since the Parkland shooting, many districts around the country have seen an spike in threats made against schools. In late February, local media reported that police were investigating a social media threat against Great Mills, warning of an upcoming school shooting.

Police increased their presence at the high school, according to TheBayNet.com , though the threat was no substantiated. There has been no indication that Tuesday's incident is related.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/education/k-12/bs-md-st-marys-shooting-20180320-story.html

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Florida

SRO, school officials wanted Parkland shooter forcibly committed in 2016

The SRO who recommended Nikolas Crua to be committed was Scot Peterson, who resigned amid accusations he failed to respond to the shooting

by Curt Anderson

MIAMI — Documents show some officials were so concerned about the mental stability of the student accused of last month's Florida high school rampage that they decided he should be forcibly committed. But the recommendation was never acted upon.

Cruz is accused of the shooting rampage that killed 14 students and three school employees at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland on Feb. 14. In addition, 17 people were wounded.

A commitment under the law would have made it more difficult if not impossible for Nikolas Cruz to obtain a gun legally.

The documents in the criminal case against Nikolas Cruz, which were obtained by The Associated Press, show school officials and a sheriff's deputy recommended in September 2016 that Cruz be involuntarily committed for a mental evaluation.

The documents are part of Cruz's criminal case in the shooting. They also show that he had written the word "kill" in a notebook, told a classmate that he wanted to buy a gun and use it, and had cut his arm supposedly in anger because he had broken up with a girlfriend. He also told another student he had drunk gasoline and was throwing up. Calls had even been made to the FBI about the possibility of Cruz using a gun at school.

The documents were provided by a psychological assessment service initiated by Cruz's mother called Henderson Behavioral Health. The documents show a high school resource officer who was also a sheriff's deputy and two school counselors recommended in September 2016 that Cruz be committed for mental evaluation under Florida's Baker Act. That law allows for involuntary commitment for mental health examination for at least three days.

Such an involuntary commitment would also have been a high obstacle if not a complete barrier to legally obtaining a firearm, such as the AR-15 type rifle used in the Stoneman Douglas massacre on Feb. 14, authorities say.

There is no evidence Cruz was ever committed. Coincidentally, the school resource officer who recommended that Cruz be "Baker Acted" was Scot Peterson — the same Broward Sheriff's Office deputy who resigned amid accusations he failed to respond to the shooting by staying outside the building where the killings occurred.

David S. Weinstein, a former federal prosecutor, said that an involuntary commitment would have been a huge red flag had Cruz attempted to buy a firearm legally.

"If he had lied, hopefully the verification of the form would have pulled up the commitment paperwork," Weinstein said.

The documents do not say why Cruz was not committed under the Baker Act or whether he may not have qualified for other reasons. The law allows a law enforcement officer such as Peterson to initiate commitment under the Baker Act.

An attorney for Peterson did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment Sunday.

Cruz, 19, is charged in a 34-count indictment with killing 17 people and wounding 17 others in the attack. He faces the death penalty if convicted, but his public defender Melisa McNeill has said he would plead guilty in return for a life prison sentence.

In the Henderson Behavioral Health documents, Cruz's mother Lynda is quoted as saying she had fresh concerns about her son's mental state after he punched holes in a wall at their home in Parkland. The clinicians at Henderson came to the home for interviews and said Cruz admitted punching the wall but said he did so because he was upset at a breakup with his girlfriend.

Cruz also admitted cutting his arm with a pencil sharpener.

After a Sept. 28, 2016 interview, the documents say Cruz "reports that he cut his arms 3-4 weeks ago and states that this is the only time he has ever cut. (Cruz) states that he cut because he was lonely, states that he had broken up with his girlfriend and reports that his grades had fallen. (Cruz) states that he is better now, reports that he is no longer lonely and states that his grades have gone back up."

He also told the clinician he owned only a pellet gun and was not capable of doing "serious harm" to anyone.

The documents show that Cruz was very much on the radar screen of mental health professionals and the Broward County school system, yet very little appears to have been done other than these evaluations.

Other red flags have also surfaced, including calls to the FBI about Cruz's potential to become a school shooter and numerous visits by county law enforcement officials to his home - both before his mother died in November and after, when he lived briefly with a family friend in Palm Beach County.

Again, very little was done.

It's not clear from the documents who the recommendation was forwarded to or why it was not followed up.

https://www.policeone.com/investigations/articles/472453006-SRO-school-officials-wanted-Parkland-shooter-forcibly-committed-in-2016/

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From the Department of Justice

Principal Deputy Director Katharine T. Sullivan of the Justice Department's Office on Violence Against Women Delivers Testimony Before the Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing Entitled, "The Need to Reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act"

Thank you, Chairman Grassley, Ranking Member Feinstein, and members of the Committee for the opportunity to speak with you today. My name is Katharine Sullivan, and I am the Principal Deputy Director of the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) in the U.S. Department of Justice (Department). I am here today to discuss the work of OVW in implementing the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 (VAWA 2013). The original Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and its subsequent reauthorizations have played a vital role in our collective efforts to respond to the crimes of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking by enhancing victim safety and autonomy, increasing the availability of victim services, and improving offender accountability. Continuing to improve upon this work nationwide is a priority for the Trump Administration.

OVW's mission is to provide federal leadership in developing the nation's capacity to reduce violence against women and administer justice for and strengthen services to victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking (hereafter referred to as “the four VAWA crimes”). OVW administers VAWA programs that provide financial support and technical assistance to communities across the country. In this capacity, OVW supports communities' efforts to end these crimes and reach underserved victims, enhances education and training, disseminates best practices, launches special initiatives, and leads the nation's efforts to end violence against women.

Currently, OVW administers four formula grant programs and 15 discretionary grant programs. Since its inception in 1995, OVW has awarded over $7.6 billion in grants and cooperative agreements and has developed a multifaceted approach to implementing VAWA. VAWA funds have been awarded to states, territories, local governments, tribal governments, courts, police, prosecutors, nonprofit victim services organizations, colleges and universities, state, territorial, and tribal sexual assault and domestic violence coalitions, homeless service providers, and community-based programs. Congress has invested in VAWA grant programs for over two decades. Millions of victims have been served since VAWA's inception. Congress's ongoing support of reauthorization will help ensure victims are provided with services to help them cope, heal, and achieve safety and justice.

Impact of the Violence Against Women Act

At the national level, VAWA authorizes programs and policies to improve the response to the four VAWA crimes. At the state and tribal levels, it fills resource gaps and supports coordinated solutions, from task forces and initiatives to standard policies and protocols. In local communities throughout the country, VAWA has opened doors for millions of people who have suffered violence and needed somewhere safe to go for help.

VAWA programs serve every state and territory in the nation as well as the majority of federally recognized tribes, providing education and training to law enforcement, prosecutors, judges, family law attorneys, and victim advocacy professionals. VAWA supports sexual assault victims by helping to ensure support for Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner medical forensic exams. VAWA also helps to provide access to transitional housing for victims and their children. By providing wrap-around services, VAWA ensures a powerful nationwide response to combatting sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking.

One beneficiary of VAWA grant dollars is Michigan's Sexual Assault Unit, which successfully prosecuted Larry Nassar, the former doctor for USA Gymnastics who sexually assaulted over 150 young women and girls. The OVW grant also assisted in providing access to services for Nassar's victims.

VAWA Funding Supports Victims Services and Holds Offenders Accountable

Across the United States, OVW grants support effective strategies for combatting domestic and sexual violence. OVW grantees reported the following: [1]

•  OVW discretionary grantees serve an average of 124,916 victims every six months with victim advocacy and other supportive services. Services Training Officers Prosecutors (STOP) Violence Against Women Formula (STOP Formula) Program funds serve more than 400,000 victims each year. Victim services staff funded through OVW grants and subgrants answer nearly one million hotline calls in a year and provide over two million housing and shelter bed-nights to victims and their children each year.

•  Every year, VAWA-funded professionals (e.g., advocates, law enforcement personnel, and prosecutors) assist victims in securing more than 200,000 protection orders.

•  Over a two-year period, OVW discretionary grantees trained 11,519 nurses, ensuring that they are equipped to competently and compassionately collect forensic evidence from victims' bodies, while tending to their medical needs. In 2016, STOP Formula funds paid salaries and wages for 34 full-time equivalent forensic nurses who performed nearly 10,000 medical forensic exams during the year.

•  Every six months, Legal Assistance for Victims Program grantees provide legal assistance to an average of 28,553 victims. Over a recent two-year period, OVW discretionary grantees trained more than 45,000 attorneys and law students to better represent domestic violence victims in court and obtain safe custody and visitation arrangements for victims' children.

•  OVW grants and subgrants pay the salaries of nearly 300 law enforcement officers at any given time. In one year, these officers' departments respond to more than 150,000 calls for service, investigate more than 150,000 cases, and refer more than 70,000 cases to prosecutors. In total, OVW discretionary grants support more than 50 specialized law enforcement units.

•  More than 300 prosecutors' salaries are paid through OVW grants and subgrants in a given year, and their offices accept the majority of the 200,000 cases referred to them for prosecution. OVW discretionary grants support about 50 specialized prosecution units.

•  Every six months, OVW discretionary grantees provide supervised visitation and safe exchange services to an average of 2,866 families, including 4,365 children.

•  Over a recent two-year period, approximately 1,701 OVW grantees engaged in coordinated community response activities.

•  Culturally Specific Services Program grantees serve an average of 3,445 victims every six months, using over 20 different languages.

•  Nearly 40 domestic violence specialty courts are supported with OVW discretionary grants. VAWA-funded courts monitor an average of 1,824 offenders every six months.

•  Over a recent two-year period, Campus Program grantees reached 275,409 incoming students through prevention education programming, including programming focused on bystander intervention.

•  By training more than 700,000 people each year, OVW grantees and subgrantees ensure that justice and healthcare professionals, victim advocates, educators, volunteers, and others are equipped to respond competently and compassionately when a victim requests assistance.

Implementing the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013

VAWA 2013 strengthened grant programs administered by OVW, and revised and enhanced other features of the law. This testimony highlights the impact of program changes on the projects funded by OVW, and on the work carried out at the state, tribal, local, and national levels by grantees, tribal governments, and federal prosecutors.

Increasing VAWA's Focus on Sexual Assault

VAWA 2013's emphasis on serving sexual assault victims and pursuing justice in their cases has strengthened the response to these crimes in many communities that benefit from OVW funding. Grantees report that more sexual assault victims are being served, more medical forensic exams are being performed, and more sexual assault cases are referred to prosecutors.

•  The number of sexual assault victims receiving Improving Criminal Justice Responses (ICJR)-funded services increased by 114 percent between 2013 and 2016.

•  In 2016, STOP subgrantees provided services to 6,940 more sexual assault victims than in 2013, a 14 percent increase in the number of sexual assault victims served.

•  Between 2013 and 2016, STOP subgrantees reported a 16 percent increase in the number of sexual assault kits processed with grant funds – from 1,006 in 2013 to 1,166 in 2016.

•  Prosecution offices receiving ICJR Program funds reported about 34 percent more sexual assault cases accepted in 2016 than in 2013 (809 in the first half of 2013 and 1,082 in the last half of 2016).

•  STOP Program data show increases in these categories as well. Between 2013 and 2016, STOP-funded prosecutors reported a nearly 10 percent increase in the number of sexual assault cases accepted – from 3,560 cases in 2013 to 3,897 in 2016.

•  Finally, ICJR-funded prosecutors' offices reported an increase in convictions from these cases between 2013 and 2016. During the first half of 2013, ICJR-funded prosecutors' offices reported that 69 percent of their felony sexual assault cases resulted in convictions (464 of 672 cases). By the end of 2016, ICJR-funded prosecutors' offices reported that 80 percent resulted in convictions (602 of 752 cases), an 11 percentage point increase.

Enhancing Resources to Address Sex Trafficking

OVW grantees also serve on the front lines of the fight against commercial sexual exploitation. In particular, VAWA 2013 enabled grantees under the Tribal Governments Program, Tribal Coalitions Program, and a youth-focused program [2] to use funds to serve victims whose primary victimization is sex trafficking. VAWA 2013 also clarified that victim services and legal assistance can include services and assistance to victims of any of the four VAWA crimes who are also victims of severe forms of trafficking. [3] OVW grantees report that victims of trafficking are very often victims of sexual assault or domestic violence. For example, the Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence, a grantee of OVW's ICJR Program, “of the 15 human trafficking victims served (in one six-month period), eight were trafficked by their current/former spouse or intimate partner, three were trafficked by a family or household member, and three were trafficked by a current or former dating partner.”

To improve victim services and justice system responses to victims of the four VAWA crimes who also are trafficked, OVW identified trafficking as a priority for its Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 grant-making. This priority is articulated in the FY 2018 funding announcements for five of OVW's discretionary grant programs: Legal Assistance for Victims, Rural, ICJR, Consolidated Youth, and Justice for Families (the first three programs are OVW's largest discretionary grant programs). By making trafficking a funding priority, OVW hopes to encourage a larger number of trafficking-focused applications than it has received in past years, and support communities that face significant challenges related to trafficking but do not have adequate resources to address the problem.

Reaching Underserved and Vulnerable Populations

VAWA 2013 recognized that efforts to eradicate domestic and sexual violence fall short when they do not account for the disproportionate and unique impact of these crimes on certain populations and authorized funding to improve services for these victims. In particular, VAWA 2013 revised the definition of “rural state” to include slightly more densely populated states. This change meant that all U.S. territories and five states (Iowa, Mississippi, Arizona, Vermont, and West Virginia) not previously designated as rural, or which had recently ceased to be counted as rural due to an increase in population density, became designated rural states and territories. Between FYs 2014 and 2017, OVW made 24 Rural Program awards totaling over $14.4 million to entities in the newly eligible states and territories.

The Underserved Program, which VAWA 2013 expanded and funded by set-asides from other appropriations, supports the development and implementation of strategies targeted at victims of the four VAWA crimes in underserved populations. OVW has made 46 Underserved Program awards totaling over $15 million between FYs 2014 and 2017. Grantees serve over 1,000 victims and train several thousand people every six months.

Across OVW grant programs, about 10 percent of adult and youth victims served are men. For the two largest formula grant programs—the STOP and Sexual Assault Services Formula (SASP) Grant Programs—the percentage of victims served who are male has slightly increased over the past decade. About 9 percent of victims served by STOP and SASP subgrantees in 2009 were males; in 2016 that figure was 11.9 percent for STOP and 12.5 percent for SASP.

Strengthening the Civil and Criminal Justice Systems' Responses to VAWA Crimes

VAWA 2013 authorized the Justice for Families Program (JFF), which is designed to improve the civil and criminal justice systems' responses to families with histories of domestic and sexual violence. One quarter of JFF grantees use their funds for victim services, assisting a total of about 6,000 victims every six months. Nearly half of JFF grantees provide a safe and secure location with trained staff to conduct custody exchanges (approximately 35,000 exchanges over three years – January 2014 to December 2016) and supervised visitation (over 41,000 visits over the same three-year period. One fifth of current JFF grantees operate specialized courts or dockets. In the same three-year period, JFF grantees conducted more than 12,000 review hearings, during which judges and magistrates determine whether offenders are complying with the terms of their probation or other court orders.

Increasing the Provision of Legal Services

VAWA 2013 expanded the availability of legal services by adding comprehensive legal assistance as a permissible use of funds in certain grant programs. Rural Program grants with a legal services component increased from 27 percent in FY 2014 to 44 percent in FY 2016. Out of 88 JFF grants awarded over the past four years, 41 include a legal services component. JFF grantees provide legal assistance to around 300 victims every six months.

Reducing Domestic Violence Homicides

OVW's investments over the past five years in implementing and researching homicide reduction models and studying their effectiveness is a direct reflection of how OVW grant funds can save lives. VAWA 2013 required that all STOP Formula grantees include homicide reduction strategies in their implementation plans and added purpose areas addressing homicide reduction in the ICRJ and Rural Programs.

OVW's Domestic Violence Homicide Prevention Initiative is an ongoing two-phase project designed to help communities reduce domestic violence homicides through the implementation and evaluation of domestic violence homicide prevention models. Results from a rigorous assessment of the models' effectiveness will be released in the coming year.

Recognizing the Authority of Tribes to Keep Their Communities Safe

In June 2013, the Department established an Intertribal Technical-Assistance Working Group on Special Domestic Violence Criminal Jurisdiction (ITWG). Approximately 45 tribes have voluntarily joined the ITWG, attending nine in-person meetings and participating in numerous webinars on subjects such as jury pools and selection, defendants' rights, victims' rights, and prosecution skills. The Department is supporting the ITWG with training and technical assistance, including an award by OVW to the National Congress of American Indians to support the ITWG's ongoing work.

Empowering Federal Prosecutors to Address Felony-level Domestic Violence in Indian Country

VAWA 2013 modernizes the federal criminal code by providing robust federal sentences for certain acts of domestic violence in Indian country, including a 10-year offense for assaulting an intimate partner by strangling or suffocating. It is critically important to respond forcefully to these crimes, because almost half of all domestic violence victims have experienced at least one episode of strangulation before a lethal or near-lethal violent incident. These are high-risk offenders—and we can save lives by prosecuting them.

After passage of VAWA 2013, the Department sponsored training on public safety in tribal communities at our National Advocacy Center and throughout Indian country. From the beginning of FY 2014 through the end of Calendar Year (CY) 2017, federal prosecutors have indicted 252 defendants on strangulation or suffocation charges.

Improving Tribal Access to National Crime Information Databases

Tribes have noted that they faced barriers to accessing and entering information into national crime information databases. In August 2015, the Department initiated the Tribal Access Program for National Crime Information (TAP), under which the Office of the Chief Information Officer provides the technology and training tribes need to access national crime information databases. The Department has selected a total of 47 tribes consisting of over 200 tribal agencies to participate in TAP. In addition, while using TAP, those tribes have entered or modified over 350 tribal court orders of protection into the National Crime Information Center.

The President's Budget request for FY 2019 specifically requests the authority to use funds previously appropriated to establish separate tribal registries for protection orders and sex offenders to support TAP instead. The Department believes that TAP can minimize the national crime information gap and result in more meaningful collaboration between the federal, state, local, and tribal criminal justice communities. The goal of creating tribal registries—using tribal protection orders and criminal histories to hold offenders accountable—will be better served by ensuring that this information is entered into national crime information databases and accessible to law enforcement both on and off tribal lands.

Continuing OVW's Strong Commitment to Effective Grant Administration

OVW has structures, policies, and tools in place to ensure that grant funds are put to the best possible use in communities combatting domestic and sexual violence, while enabling OVW staff to identify and closely monitor grants that carry an increased risk for mismanagement, fraud, waste, or abuse. OVW's monitoring approach helps spot and correct issues before they become problems, deters misuse of funds, and responds to challenges grantees face in the financial and programmatic management of federal grant funds.

Holding Grantees Accountable

OVW established its Grants Financial Management Unit (GFMU) in 2010. GFMU's knowledge of OVW programs and grantees, and its familiarity with the challenges faced in the administration of OVW programs, have enabled OVW to more closely scrutinize budgets and identify issues before they become problems, often before awards are even made. The services provided by GFMU include: 1) pre- and post-award financial grants administration; 2) technical assistance on financial issues and grants administration for OVW grant recipients, including a toll-free customer service line for direct assistance; and 3) financial grants management training for OVW grantees and program staff.

OVW has created manuals and other tools for staff on the management and monitoring of grant awards. These resources promote consistency and transparency by setting standardized policies and procedures. They include instructions, guidelines, policies, and job aides for performing activities associated with all stages of the grants management process. One example is the Grant Assessment Tool (GAT), an automated system through which staff objectively assess the risk that each grant award carries for financial or programmatic mismanagement and fraud, waste, and abuse. Using this tool, OVW Program Specialists set monitoring priorities each year based on a set of 13 criteria.

OVW monitors its grant awards to ensure financial and programmatic compliance and to avoid fraud, waste, and abuse. Grant monitoring also identifies grantees in need of training and technical assistance, which helps to avert potentially serious problems. OVW uses an electronic monitoring module for tracking grant monitoring activities, including office-based reviews, onsite visits, and subsequent correspondence and corrective actions.

OVW grantees are required to submit a quarterly federal financial report (FFR, SF-425) documenting grant expenditures and obligations. They also submit detailed progress reports, every six months for discretionary programs and annually for two of OVW's formula programs. Progress reports capture quantitative (e.g., victims served, protection orders issued, staff positions funded) and qualitative (i.e., narrative information about project accomplishments and challenges) data that are reviewed by OVW staff for accuracy, completeness, compliance with grant requirements, and progress toward project goals.

As previously discussed, OVW uses the GAT to prioritize grants for onsite and office-based monitoring. OVW Program Specialists conduct monitoring activities throughout the year. In addition to grant monitoring performed by OVW Program Specialists and Financial Analysts, OVW contracts with the Department's Office of Justice Programs' Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO) through a reimbursable agreement to conduct onsite and office-based financial monitoring of OVW grantees. OCFO uses GAT results and other selection factors to identify grants for financial monitoring, and OVW staff can conduct joint monitoring visits with OCFO.

Improving Grantee Performance

OVW funds training and technical assistance to support grantees in aligning their work with effective strategies. OVW also provides direct training and technical assistance to help grantees manage their grant funds, adhere to requirements, and implement effective programs. In CY 2016, OVW technical assistance providers reported training over 126,000 people, including law enforcement officers, victim advocates, prosecutors, judges, and more.

OVW launched its Research and Evaluation Initiative in FY 2016 to generate empirical knowledge about which OVW-funded strategies are most effective for serving victims and holding offenders accountable. Fifteen projects totaling over $5.5 million are currently underway, and OVW expects these studies to identify the outcomes and impacts of various approaches to combatting domestic and sexual violence.

Conclusion

Again, I want to thank you, Chairman Grassley, Ranking Member Feinstein, and members of the Committee, for the opportunity to testify before you today about the importance of OVW's work in implementing VAWA. As a nation, we have made great strides. We have changed the way our communities respond to the four VAWA crimes. But, there is still work to do if we are to reach our collective goal of breaking the cycle of violence that plagues families and communities across our country. The Trump Administration is dedicated to building upon the achievements of VAWA and ending sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking.

https://www.justice.gov/opa/speech/principal-deputy-director-katharine-t-sullivan-justice-department-s-office-violence

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

California

Menlo Park Police: 47% Less Crime with Community Policing

Menlo Park, California, Police Chief Robert Jonsen discussed how community policing strategies reduced violent crime and improved community relations

by PoliceOne

Can you name and recognize your city council members and community religious leaders? Are you meeting members of your community for the first time before or after a major event?

Depending on how you answered these questions you may have a problem lying in wait according to risk management expert and Lexipol co-founder Gordon Graham, who recently hosted a webinar on how to make community/police engagement a reality.

When we don't know who is in our community, that is a problem lying in wait,” said Graham, who, during his 33-year career as a California Highway Patrol officer and attorney, made sure he had contact with important community members.

“As a lawyer, I handle tragedies after they occur, but what can we do in front? If you don't know the community you protect and serve, you don't know key contacts and leaders,” said Graham.

While media reports often depict the police and public as pitted against one another, with a chasm of distrust separating them, many law enforcement agencies are achieving significant successes in community/police engagement, said Graham.

Addressing Gang Violence in a Smaller Community

One of Graham's guests on the webinar was Chief Robert Jonsen of the Menlo Park Police Department in California, whose agency received the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and Cisco Systems Community Policing Award in 2016, which recognizes outstanding community policing initiatives by law enforcement agencies worldwide.

Chief Jonsen, who began his career in the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department in 1986, took over the reins at the Menlo Park Police Department in 2013 after working in several agencies in southern California.

“I came from Los Angeles where resources were unlimited, from an organization with 18,000 employees to one with 70 employees. While we are a small community of 32,000 residents, the town – which is home to Facebook – is both culturally and economically diverse.”

Jonsen notes that when he first arrived in Menlo one of the most pressing problems he had to tackle was gang-related violence in the Belle Haven neighborhood, which had been an issue for many years. While the level of gang violence was not what he had seen in Los Angeles, it was notable in this small town where 10-12 gang-related shootings were happening each year.

Using Three Key Community Engagement Tools

Jonsen first put together a Community Advisory Group to build partnerships with residents, key community leaders and other law enforcement agencies:

One of the first things I had to address was to reduce the fear in the community, but my challenge was that I knew nobody.”

He also used the social media platform Nextdoor – which was relatively new at the time – to assist in pulling together the advisory group. As the Nextdoor app maps out your city into distinct neighborhoods, Jonsen could select a representative from each particular district to ensure all residents were represented.

“The advisory group started meeting once a month, during which time we identified the primary concerns for the 21 neighborhoods that make up Menlo Park. It was a very effective way for us to develop and coordinate plans to help the neighborhoods,” said Jonsen.

Finally, to coincide with the city of Menlo Park's Belle Haven visioning process , a strategic plan for the neighborhood, the Menlo Park Police Department began an extensive community engagement process.

Top concerns and issues identified were:

•  Gangs

•  Violence

•  The lack of a cohesive program for involving the community in the public safety strategy

4 Community Policing Strategies Address Top Concerns

The outcome of the Belle Haven analysis regarding crime in that neighborhood was relatively shocking, said Jonsen.

“We found that the vast majority of the gang shootings were connected in one capacity or another with just three distinct properties, where the residents were victims or were connected to the suspects. The landlords were out of state, so they were oblivious to what was going on.

Jonsen assigned personnel to those properties to work with the landlords and tenants. There has not been a gang-related shooting in the city since November 2013.

In addition to resolving the housing issue, three other key developments occurred:

•  A new highly visible and accessible substation, funded by a private/public partnership with Facebook , was built in the neighborhood;

•  The police department installed surveillance cameras , which were endorsed by the Community Advisory Group;

•  License plate readers were implemented, also approved by the Community Advisory Group.

“What we found was that by reducing fear, our partnership with the community expanded tremendously, and folks worked much better with us as far as addressing issues and becoming involved in their neighborhoods,” said Jonsen.

Community Advisory Group Vets Police Strategies

The role of Menlo Park's Community Advisory Group has since expanded.

“They vet almost every decision we make in regard to what we roll out into the community,” said Jonsen.

These decisions include a body-worn camera policy . After the group's input and recommendations, Menlo Park Police became the first agency in its region to have every police officer, detective and code enforcement officer wearing them.

Menlo Park Community Policing Results

The results of the agency's strategies are compelling:

•  A 47 percent decrease in crime in Belle Haven;

•  No gang-related shootings for the first time in more than a decade;

•  Marked increase in community member involvement.

Funding Helps, But Partnership is Key for Community Policing

Jonsen said funding has often come through partnership with local businesses, specifically Facebook. The company supported building and design of a new substation, provided funding for a school resource officer and contributed $12 million to fund six additional police officers.

“While I recognize that not every community has an organization like Facebook, agencies can look at developing private/public partnerships in their jurisdictions. I want to let smaller agencies know that you can do a lot even with limited resources. It is the partnership with the community that really makes the difference.”

Watch the webinar on Lexipol's website.

https://efficientgov.com/blog/2018/03/20/menlo-park-police-47-percent-less-crime-with-community-policing/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

California

LAPD to make body camera, patrol car videos public

The LAPD's years-long practice of keeping video from body cameras and patrol cars under wraps will soon end

by Kate Mather

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Police Department's years-long practice of keeping video from body cameras and patrol cars under wraps will soon end after the agency's civilian bosses approved a policy Tuesday that requires the release of recordings in the future.

The 4-0 vote by the Police Commission marks a dramatic about-face for a department that refused to release such footage even as it rolled out thousands of body cameras to officers across the city in recent years.

The new approach will give the public a firsthand look at some of the most crucial moments involving the LAPD, including shootings by officers, deaths that occur in their custody and other encounters when they use force that kills or seriously injures someone.

The implications could be felt beyond Los Angeles. Law enforcement agencies across the country are still struggling with when and how to release video — if at all. In California, lawmakers' attempts at a statewide answer have repeatedly stalled, leaving a patchwork of policies with varying degrees of transparency.

Video can be a crucial piece of evidence in encounters involving police officers, both for those investigating the incidents and for outsiders interested in how they unfolded. For many, the release of those recordings offers residents the chance to see for themselves exactly what happened, rather than rely on sometimes-conflicting accounts from police and witnesses.

But opponents fear that making such footage public could thwart an investigation, inflame tensions between the public and the police or, as LAPD Chief Charlie Beck has said, offer a limited, incomplete snapshot of an incident if other evidence isn't also shared.

When a draft of the policy was made public last month, Beck called it a "great start," noting that it called for the release of other information along with video to provide more context about an incident.

Under the new rules for the LAPD, video from "critical incidents" involving the police would automatically become public within 45 days after they occur. The Police Commission or police chief could also opt to release video from other encounters if they decided doing so was "in the public interest."

The policy would extend beyond video captured by police cameras. Other footage the LAPD has of a critical incident, including recordings from security cameras or bystanders' cellphones, would also be released.

There is also a caveat that allows the release to be delayed if the police chief and two police commissioners unanimously decide there is a valid, and specific, reason for doing so. The release policy will apply to shootings and other critical incidents that take place after the new rules take effect in 30 days.

The public has seen glimpses of LAPD body camera footage recently — from a deadly police shooting on skid row and a hit-and-run investigation that prompted allegations of officer misconduct — but only after the recordings became part of a court case and were published by news outlets. Earlier this month, the district attorney's office released video from a police shooting for the first time when prosecutors announced they would not charge an LAPD officer who killed a homeless man near the Venice boardwalk in 2015.

The final version of the proposal sent to the Police Commission was a year in the making. The panel brought in a group from the New York University School of Law to collect feedback. The results indicated broad support — from both the public and police — for making the footage public.

The LAPD and the union representing rank-and-file officers were also consulted. So was Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey, who had harsh words for the proposal now on the table.

Lacey laid out her position in a memo last year, saying her office would not publicly release video evidence from a police shooting until after deciding whether to file criminal charges. Doing so earlier, Lacey wrote, could bias potential jurors.

"The Police Commission policy jeopardizes the justice process by exposing witnesses to video evidence before they are interviewed by our independent investigators," she said last month. "It will make seeking justice in these politically charged cases more difficult."

https://www.policeone.com/patrol-issues/articles/472515006-LAPD-to-make-body-camera-patrol-car-videos-public/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

California

Police shot at a man 20 times in his own yard, thinking he had a gun. It was an iPhone.

by Alex Horton and Wesley Lowery

Police say they saw an object in Stephan Clark's hand before they fired 20 bullets that killed him in his back yard Sunday night in Sacramento, a disturbing moment that was made public through body camera footage released Wednesday night.

The two officers were responding to a 911 call about a man breaking vehicle windows when they encountered, then killed, Clark, an unarmed black man.

Video released by the Sacramento Police Department depicts a frantic foot pursuit through darkened streets pierced by white slivers of police flashlight.

The officers spot Clark approaching a house and shout: “Show me your hands! Stop! Stop!”

Clark is seen running, and the two officers round the corner of the house and find him under a covered patio.

An infrared camera on an overhead helicopter briefly loses sight of Clark.

“Show me your hands! Gun!” an officer shouts and ducks behind the wall in a fraction of a second.

The helicopter footage shows one of the officers appearing to grab his partner to pull him to cover.

Clark steps toward the officers. Behind the wall, one of the officers issues another command. “Show me your hands!” And then: “Gun, gun, gun!”

Both officers open fire. Sparks from the bullets light up the helicopter's infrared camera in sharp white pops.

The sequence, from the first glimpse of Clark on the patio to the first gunshot, unfolds in about six seconds.

The officers are never heard identifying themselves as police before fatally shooting Clark.

The gun officers thought Clark had in his hand was actually a white iPhone.

“He was at the wrong place at the wrong time in his own back yard?” his grandmother, Sequita Thompson, told the Sacramento Bee . “C'mon now, they didn't have to do that.”

The Rev. Al Sharpton, who has spoken with Clark's mother and plans to travel to California to meet with the family, said in a statement: “It is an atrocity that an unarmed young man was shot at 20 times in his own backyard and shows the urgent need in these times for intervention against police misconduct.”

He added: “We will call for a complete and thorough investigation into this young man's death.”

The Sacramento Police Department said the man they believed was breaking windows was the same man the officers killed in a hail of gunfire.

They identified him only as a man over 6 feet tall and have yet to identify Clark as the suspect or victim. But Thompson and other relatives identified him to media using variations of his name, Stephon and Stephan, and two different ages, 22 or 23.

Thompson disputes the police department's version of events. Her grandson was short, she said in a video produced by the Bee. She believes another suspect was smashing windows, and that Clark was in the back yard at the wrong time.

Their doorbell is broken, and relatives often tap on the back window for someone to open the garage door, the family told the newspaper. Clark was staying at his grandmother's home at the time he was killed.

The gunfire startled her that night, she told the Bee.

“The only thing that I heard was pow, pow, pow, pow, and I got to the ground,” she said in the Bee's video.

She said she began to suspect the police description of a dead person in her yard was a member of the family.

“I told the officers, ‘You guys are murderers. Murderers,' ” Thompson cried out. “You took him away from his kids.”

The family said Clark had two young sons, Cairo and Aiden, and a fiancee, Salena Manni, the Associated Press reported .

Thompson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The narrative of the Sunday night shooting released by authorities tells a short, grim story.

The helicopter observed a suspect picking up a “toolbar” and breaking a window to a house after 9 p.m. Sunday night.

The Bee reported it was the sliding glass door belonging to a neighbor.

Authorities said the suspect then ran and looked into a car.

Police in the helicopter guided officers on the ground to the front yard of Thompson's house as Clark was coming from the back.

They met in the middle, and soon Clark was dead.

An analysis by The Washington Post found that 987 people were killed by police last year — 68 of them unarmed. Of those unarmed victims, 30 were white, 20 were black and 13 were Hispanic, showing an overrepresentation of African Americans among the total population. Five of the remaining fatalities were of unknown or other race.

At least 230 people have been killed by police this year, according to The Post's database on fatal force .

“I know there could have been another way; he didn't have to die,” Clark's brother Stevante told CBS News .

“You're going to know his name forever,” he added before reciting the names of several black men who were killed by police: “You're going to remember it like how you know Trayvon Martin, Mike Brown, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice. You're going to know him. You're going to remember this.”

Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg offered his condolences to Clark's family and said in a statement that he was “heartbroken” for the city.

“The questions raised by the community and council members are appropriate and must be answered during the investigation,” Steinberg said, though he noted that he had reviewed the police videos carefully and said: “Based on the videos alone, I cannot second-guess the split-second decisions of our officers and I'm not going to do that.”

Clark is at least the sixth person shot and killed by the Sacramento Police Department since the beginning of 2015, according to a Post analysis; five of them were black men, the other a white man.

The Oct. 2015 shooting of Adriene Ludd and the Sept. 2017 shooting of Eric Arnold were the only two of the six fatal Sacramento police shootings in which the person killed was armed with a gun.

Police say Ludd fled after a traffic stop and fired at officers before he was killed.

Arnold, a suspect in a double homicide, shot two police officers before he was shot and killed.

Matt Coates was holding a plastic BB gun when he was shot and killed in May 2015; his girlfriend would later tell reporters that she had told the officers that the gun wasn't real. In two of the cases — the fatal shootings of Dazion Flenaugh and Joseph Mann — Sacramento police killed people alleged to have been armed with a knife.

Clark, it appears, was completely unarmed.

How many times Clark was shot is unknown, authorities said, pending the investigation. The officers are on paid administrative leave as the probe unfolds, officials said.

Sacramento Police Det. Eddie Macauley said Wednesday he was unsure what model of weapon the officers used, or if the 10 rounds each of them fired was the entire capacity of their magazines.

The police said five minutes passed before responding officers arrived to cuff Clark and render first aid, which ultimately proved futile: He died at the scene.

That timeline is not precise, according to the footage. Five minutes and 16 seconds pass between the radio call of shots fired and when officers snap on the cuffs. Several more seconds pass before someone on scene begins chest compressions.

A single sentence of department guidance on providing medical attention to suspects reads : “Officers shall provide first aid to injured parties if it can be done safely.”

Some factors may affect how and if police render aid to someone they shoot, such as if they are resisting or if police think a weapon is present, said Macauley, the police detective.

In the video, the officers did not appear to be fearful of an attack once Clark was down.

He wasn't moving, an officer notes. One officer, showing no clear urgency to replenish his ammunition, waits a minute and a half before he reloads.

“Sir, can you move?” an arriving officer calls into the night at Clark, minutes after the shooting, telling him they cannot help unless they know he does not have a weapon.

Police allowed Clark's family to review the body camera video before it was publicly released — part of a departmental policy change, according to the Bee :

Allowing family to see such videos before they are released to the public is part of a city policy adopted in late 2016 by the city of Sacramento after the fatal shooting by police of Joseph Mann , a mentally ill black man. Mann's shooting led to major changes in the department, including a requirement that all patrol officers wear body cameras.

The changes also require police to release videos in “critical incidents” such as officer-involved shootings and deaths in custody within 30 days of the event. Sacramento police Chief Daniel Hahn, the city's first African American chief, has been releasing videos more quickly than the requirement and for a broader range of events than covered by the new law since taking over the department last summer.

“As soon as they did the command, they started shooting,” Clark's aunt Saquois Durham, told the Bee. “They said ‘Put your hands up, gun' and then they just let loose on my nephew.”

Said Les Simmons, a pastor and community activist: “Even if he did what they say was done, at the end of the day it does not justify his life being taken.”

Simmons called into question what was left off the released video, particularly at the end.

Before the video concludes, the two officers walk to the street, nearly seven minutes after the shooting.

Shimmering red and blue lights silhouette an approaching group of officers. Their faces are blurred.

“Hey mute?” an officer says. The audio goes silent, and shortly after, the videos end.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2018/03/21/police-shot-a-man-20-times-in-his-back-yard-thinking-he-had-a-gun-it-was-a-cellphone/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

California

'Our city is hurting': Protestors swarm downtown Sacramento following deadly police shooting

by Alex Horton and Wesley Lowery

Demonstrators protesting the fatal police shooting of an unarmed black man in Sacramento blocked the entrances to a downtown basketball arena Thursday night amid chants of “black lives matter,” prompting police to shut down admission to a Sacramento Kings game.

The Sacramento Police Department — whose officers shot and killed Stephon Clark in his grandmother's backyard Sunday night — said at 7:39 p.m. local time that no one else would be allowed into the game against the Atlanta Hawks “due to unforeseen circumstances around Golden 1 Center.”

The Sacramento Bee reported that hundreds of protesters had formed a human chain in front of arena doorways, preventing thousands of fans from entering, and leaving the seats inside the arena nearly empty.

“Due to law enforcement being unable to ensure ticketed fans could safely enter the arena, the arena remains closed and we ask fans outside to travel home,” the Kings said in a Thursday-night statement.

After the game, the team's principal owner, Vivek Ranadive, addressed the few fans who had managed to enter the arena before the entrances were closed. He expressed sympathy to Clark's family and said he recognized the public's right to protest peacefully.

“We stand before you — old, young, black white, brown — and we are all united in our commitment,” Ranadive said. “We recognize that it's not just business as usual, and we are going to work really hard to bring everybody together to make the world a better place, starting with our own community, and we are going to work really hard to prevent this kind of tragedy from happening again.”

Videos showed protesters outside the arena chanting “Stephon Clark,” the name of the 22-year-old who was killed Sunday by two city police officers responding to a 911 call about a man breaking vehicle windows.

The officers fired 20 rounds at Clark, who died in the yard.

Police said they thought he had a gun in his hand, but it was actually an iPhone.

The protest at the arena Thursday came after crowds blocked commuters on Interstate 5 and some city streets during the height of rush hour. No arrests were made, police said .

“Emotions are high,” Sacramento Police Chief Daniel Hahn told ABC affiliate KXTV amid the demonstrations. “People are angry — and they want answers. And we intend to give it to them.”

Hahn, the city's first black police chief, added: “Our city is hurting. This is where I was born and raised; so any time our city is hurting, I'm hurting. You can't go anywhere right now without feeling this, seeing it on the news, seeing the protests in person. … There's no way around that.”

Video released Wednesday night by the Sacramento Police Department depicts a frantic foot pursuit through darkened streets pierced by white slivers of police flashlights.

When officers spotted Clark approaching a house, they shouted: “Show me your hands! Stop! Stop!”

In the video, Clark is seen running, and the two officers round the corner of the house and find him under a covered patio.

“Show me your hands! Gun!” an officer shouts and ducks behind the wall in a fraction of a second.

Clark steps toward the officers. Behind the wall, one of the officers issues another command. “Show me your hands!” And then: “Gun, gun, gun!”

Both officers open fire. Sparks from the bullets light up a helicopter's infrared camera in sharp white pops.

The sequence, from the first glimpse of Clark on the patio to the first gunshot, unfolded in about six seconds.

The officers are never heard identifying themselves as police before fatally shooting Clark.

“He was at the wrong place at the wrong time in his own back yard?” his grandmother, Sequita Thompson, told the Sacramento Bee . “C'mon, now, they didn't have to do that.”

The Rev. Al Sharpton said in a statement: “It is an atrocity that an unarmed young man was shot at 20 times in his own backyard and shows the urgent need in these times for intervention against police misconduct.”

Sharpton, whose civil rights group is helping the Clark family find legal representation, added: “We will call for a complete and thorough investigation into this young man's death.”

The Sacramento Police Department said the man they believed was breaking windows was the same man the officers killed in a hail of gunfire, identified by the 911 caller as a thin 6-foot male wearing a black hoodie and dark pants.

Police have yet to identify Clark as the suspect or victim. But Thompson and other relatives identified him to media using variations of his name, Stephon and Stephan. (Public records list him as Stephon Clark, 22.)

Thompson disputes the police department's version of events.

Her grandson was short, not 6 feet, she said in a video produced by the Bee. She believes another suspect was smashing windows, and that Clark was in the backyard at the wrong time.

Their doorbell is broken, and relatives often tap on the back window for someone to open the garage door, the family told the newspaper. Clark was staying at his grandmother's home at the time he was killed.

The gunfire startled her that night, she told the Bee.

“The only thing that I heard was pow, pow, pow, pow, and I got to the ground,” she said in the Bee's video.

She said she began to suspect the police description of a dead person in her yard was a member of the family.

“I told the officers, ‘You guys are murderers. Murderers,' ” Thompson cried out. “You took him away from his kids.”

The family said Clark had two young sons, Cairo and Aiden, and a fiancee, Salena Manni, the Associated Press reported .

The narrative of the Sunday night shooting released by authorities tells a short, grim story.

The helicopter observed a suspect picking up a “toolbar” and breaking a window to a house after 9 p.m. Sunday night. The Bee reported it was the sliding glass door belonging to a neighbor.

Authorities said the suspect then ran and looked into a car.

Police in the helicopter guided officers on the ground to the front yard of Thompson's house as Clark was coming from the back. They met in the middle, and soon Clark was dead.

“Prior to the shooting, the involved officers saw the suspect facing them, advance forward with his arms extended, and holding an object in his hands,” police said in a statement. “At the time of the shooting, the officers believed the suspect was pointing a firearm at them. After an exhaustive search, scene investigators did not locate any firearms. The only items found near the suspect was a cell phone.”

An analysis by The Washington Post found that 987 people were killed by police last year — 68 of them unarmed. Of those unarmed victims, 30 were white, 20 were black and 13 were Hispanic, showing an overrepresentation of African Americans compared to their percentage of U.S. population. Five of the remaining fatalities were of unknown or other race.

At least 230 people have been killed by police this year, according to The Post's database on fatal force .

“I know there could have been another way; he didn't have to die,” Clark's brother Stevante told CBS News .

“You're going to know his name forever,” he added before reciting the names of several black men who were killed by police: “You're going to remember it, like, how you know … Mike Brown, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice. You're going to know him. You're going to remember this.”

Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg offered his condolences to Clark's family and said in a statement that he was “heartbroken” for the city.

“The questions raised by the community and council members are appropriate and must be answered during the investigation,” Steinberg said, though he noted that he had reviewed the police videos carefully and said: “Based on the videos alone, I cannot second-guess the split-second decisions of our officers and I'm not going to do that.”

Clark is at least the sixth person shot and killed by the Sacramento Police Department since the beginning of 2015, according to a Post analysis: Five of them were black men; the other was a white man.

The October 2015 shooting of Adriene Ludd and the September 2017 shooting of Eric Arnold were the only two of the six fatal Sacramento police shootings in which the person killed was armed with a gun.

Police say Ludd fled after a traffic stop and fired at officers before he was killed.

Arnold, a suspect in a double homicide, shot two police officers before he was shot and killed.

Matt Coates was holding a plastic BB gun when he was shot and killed in May 2015; his girlfriend would later tell reporters that she had told the officers that the gun wasn't real. In two of the cases — the fatal shootings of Dazion Flenaugh and Joseph Mann — Sacramento police killed people alleged to have been armed with a knife.

Clark, it appears, was unarmed.

How many times Clark was shot is unknown, authorities said, pending the investigation. The officers are on paid administrative leave as the probe unfolds, officials said.

Detective Eddie Macauley of the Sacramento Police said Wednesday he was unsure what model of weapon the officers used, or if the 10 rounds each of them fired represented the entire capacity of their magazines.

The police said five minutes passed before responding officers arrived to cuff Clark and render first aid, which ultimately proved futile: He died at the scene.

That timeline is not precise, according to the footage. Five minutes and 16 seconds pass between the radio call of shots fired and when officers snap on the cuffs. Several more seconds pass before someone on scene begins chest compressions.

A single sentence of department guidance on providing medical attention to suspects reads : “Officers shall provide first aid to injured parties if it can be done safely.”

Some factors may affect how and if police render aid to someone they shoot, such as if they are resisting or if police think a weapon is present, said Macauley, the police detective.

In the video, the officers did not appear to be fearful of an attack once Clark was down.

He wasn't moving, an officer notes. One officer, showing no clear urgency to replenish his ammunition, waits a minute and a half before he reloads.

“Sir, can you move?” an arriving officer calls into the night at Clark, minutes after the shooting, telling him they cannot help unless they know he does not have a weapon.

Police allowed Clark's family to review the body camera video before it was publicly released — part of a departmental policy change, according to the Bee :

Allowing family to see such videos before they are released to the public is part of a city policy adopted in late 2016 by the city of Sacramento after the fatal shooting by police of Joseph Mann , a mentally ill black man. Mann's shooting led to major changes in the department, including a requirement that all patrol officers wear body cameras.

The changes also require police to release videos in “critical incidents” such as officer-involved shootings and deaths in custody within 30 days of the event. Sacramento police Chief Daniel Hahn, the city's first African American chief, has been releasing videos more quickly than the requirement and for a broader range of events than covered by the new law since taking over the department last summer.

“We're being open…. We will reveal facts as we get them,” Hahn told KXTV on Thursday . “That still doesn't erase what happened, and that still doesn't answer the questions, whether it was legal, and within policy and within training. But I think it's a step in the right direction.”

After viewing the video, Clark's aunt Saquois Durham told the Bee: “As soon as they did the command, they started shooting. They said ‘Put your hands up, gun,' and then they just let loose on my nephew.”

Said Les Simmons, a pastor and community activist: “Even if he did what they say was done, at the end of the day it does not justify his life being taken.”

Simmons called into question what was left off the released video, particularly at the end.

Before the video concludes, the two officers walk to the street, nearly seven minutes after the shooting.

Shimmering red and blue lights silhouette an approaching group of officers. Their faces are blurred.

“Hey mute?” an officer says. The audio goes silent, and shortly after, the videos end.

“It clearly implies to me that they're on the scene trying to figure out the coverup,” said Sharpton, who spoke with Clark's mother Wednesday. “You're standing over a dead body that you thought had a gun, you find out he had no gun, and your immediate impulse is to mute the sound.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2018/03/21/police-shot-a-man-20-times-in-his-back-yard-thinking-he-had-a-gun-it-was-a-cellphone/

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Editorial

Rhode Island

Community policing is beneficial to all

Few professions can provoke the full range of emotions, from unflinching respect and trust to belligerent distrust and anger, as law enforcement.

With over 900,000 law enforcement officers in the country, it would be foolish to assume that each individual police officer is an agent of unfailing virtue – incapable of making mistakes or succumbing to the negative human emotions that are responsible for making bad decisions in times of high stress.

However it also can't be understated how complicated, potentially dangerous and unpredictable of a job it is to be on a police force in any part of the country. All it takes is one disturbed individual or a combination of external factors to turn a normal day into a serious, life-or-death situation – and this is the case every day that a man or woman suits up and hits the beat.

This is why the Warwick Police Department's commitment to reaching into its community to help better educate the public about what goes into being a police officer is commendable and valuable to the city as a whole. The department launched its 30th Citizens' Police Academy last week to its second largest class in its history – with the goal of bettering relationships between those in uniform and everyday residents.

The 12-week program meets once a week for two-hour classes to go over police protocols and training techniques and seeks to get to the heart of how police respond to activity, why they react the way they do and what their reasoning for their tactics are.

Too often in society there is a void between forces involving the citizenry at large. Many decisions, while most often made by elected officials, are made without much actual input from the public at all. The Warwick Police Department, by opening their doors to regular citizens, are trying to counter that by being as open about their procedures as they safely can be – which will only help to build a positive bridge between that gap along the thin blue line and the public.

The Warwick Police take community outreach seriously, and they have dedicated officers specifically assigned to be community liaisons for each section of the city. Daniel Maggiacomo leads the Warwick Citizens Police Academy, and speaks in plain language that is appreciable by any resident. He fully admits that some officers aren't worthy of wearing the uniform, and accepts the fact that cops, like any other person, are fallible and capable of making mistakes.

In recent times, especially in reaction to incidents of use of force where people wind up severely injured or dead as a result of actions of the police, law enforcement officials are placed under the microscope and the public tends to gather to either side of an extreme argument (as social media so usually and faultily projects) – police are either unquestionable heroes, or they are demonized as sociopaths with a badge and a gun.

Voices like Maggiacomo's are needed today, more than ever. Voices that understand that police are simply people who have chosen a unique, critically important and difficult career. Some are going to be bad at their job, or exercise improper amounts of force or generally be angry with those they interact with. Many more will simply try to do the best that they can, and will follow protocol and treat people with respect so long as they, too, are respected and not put in harm's way.

In a way, by allowing people to learn more about police and their approach to enforcing the law, they are hopefully extending that olive branch to many more people than just those who choose to sit through the extensive course. In conversations with friends or relatives who may have had a bad experience with law enforcement, people who have taken the class may be able to widen their perspective, or at least share their positive experience.

The Warwick Police have now taken their outreach a step further, actively asking the citizenry for the first time in its history to fill out an online survey about how well (or not well) they have been performing their role as peacekeepers within the city. Ideally, there will be a mix of praise where it is warranted and complaints where they are appropriate. As with the citizens' academy, the ultimate goal should be a steady improvement towards better ideals.

No matter your stance on law enforcement, this citizens-first approach to conducting business should be the approach utilized by every governmental group responsible in any way for forces outside the control of its populace.

http://cranstononline.com/stories/community-policing-is-beneficial-to-all,132439

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Editorial

Massachusetts

'Old school policing' pays off

by Walter Bird Jr.

It is hard to argue with the numbers. In this case, the numbers are going down. When it comes to crime in Worcester, overall, the numbers simply are not backing up the perception that the city is unsafe. Need an example? In the second largest city in New England, there were five homicides in all of last year. In a time when we are plagued by gun violence, not one of those murders was done with a gun.

There are still plenty of people who say Worcester is not safe. It is worth noting that, within the Worcester Police Department's numbers are those showing a serious problem with sex crimes. Then number of rapes has increased significantly since 2014, according to figures supplied by the police department. After dipping from 65 to 53 in 2014, the number of rapes went up by 20, from 53 to 73, in 2015, then by another 20, to 93, in 2016. In 2017, there were 96 reported rapes. The issue of rape and sex crimes cannot be ignored.

There are other safety issues in Worcester. Pedestrian and motor vehicle accidents are a serious problem. That is a public safety issue and it must be addressed. This space has also made note of the darkness that envelopes the city at night because there simply is not enough illumination from streetlights. In parts of Main South, it is almost pitch black. Ditto the north end of Main Street. Not that there aren't streetlights. There are, but their glow is insufficient. That creates potential safety problems.

But those issues do not make Worcester unsafe in totality. So what has helped the city become safer? What has led to single-digit homicides and no gun-related deaths? What has brought down property crime? A single answer is not forthcoming. Indeed, as city officials say, it is a combination of efforts. But law enforcement-wise, it may just be a return to old-style tactics.

One of those examples is the introduction of a new police precinct at Union Station in Washington Square. Some have questioned why a precinct wasn't opened in the Main South neighborhood. Talk about perceptions. Just as there are many who are convinced Worcester is unsafe, the perception of Main South as crime-ridden lives on. No matter the positive strides made – such as the transformation of Kilby Street, as chronicled by Worcester Magazine – Main South retains its reputation as a hard-knock neighborhood. Without question, there are crime and drugs in that area. A police precinct may well be in the offing.

“We'll see,” Police Chief Steve Sargent said of whether a precinct could be opened in Main South. “If the place is right, if the property is right, absolutely, absolutely.”

Police precincts may not be everybody's cup of tea, but they fit into the department's vision of community policing and building relationships with residents. As Sargent sees it, “It's old-school policing in a new-world environment.”

In this case, it is hard to argue with the results.

https://worcestermag.com/2018/03/22/editorial-old-school-policing-pays-off/58366

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Florida

Deputy suspended for sleeping on duty at Parkland school

About 30 minutes before the deputy was found asleep, deputies arrested Zachary Cruz, brother of Nikolas Cruz, for trespassing on school grounds

by PoliceOne Staff

PARKLAND, Fla. — Authorities said a Broward County sheriff's deputy was suspended after he reportedly fell asleep in his patrol car while on-duty at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

Veda Coleman-Wright, spokeswoman for the Broward County Sheriff's Office, said Tuesday that Deputy Moises Carotti was suspended with pay, pending an internal affairs investigation, WPLG reports . Coleman-Wright said a student on Monday told another deputy that Carotti was sleeping near the same building where the Feb. 14 massacre took place.

The Miami Herald reports that a sergeant went to Carotti's patrol car and knocked on his window to wake up the deputy. Another deputy was sent to replace him afterwards.

Carotti was ordered to turn his badge and vehicle in and inform internal affairs about his whereabouts twice a day.

About 30 minutes before Carotti was found asleep, deputies arrested Zachary Cruz , brother of Nikolas Cruz, for trespassing on school grounds. Zachary rode his skateboard to the school to "reflect on the school shooting and soak it in,” police said. Zachary was told several times to not visit the campus prior to the incident.

After learning about the deputy's suspension, Sen. Marco Rubio said the incident was “almost impossible to believe.”

“Of all the schools in America, you would think this would be the safest one right now," Rubio said.

Sheriff Scott Israel said he was “disappointed” after learning about the allegations against Carotti, according to the Sun-Sentinel .

“That a deputy was sleeping is incredibly disappointing,” he said. “As you know, I can't comment on an ongoing internal affairs investigation, but once the findings are in I will make the appropriate decisions regarding the way we are going to handle it and the level of discipline.”

The deputy's suspension is one of the latest incidents to occur at the school this week. On Tuesday, two students were arrested for bringing knives to the school. Another was investigated for making a threat on social media.

"Security at Marjory Stoneman Douglas continues to be an urgent priority for us," Broward County Public Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie said. "Given the developments over the past 24 hours, we will further enhance school safety measures. Communications on details will be forthcoming tomorrow."

https://www.policeone.com/officer-misconduct-internal-affairs/articles/472557006-Deputy-suspended-for-sleeping-on-duty-at-Parkland-high-school/

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Florida

Troopers to patrol Parkland high school

The move comes after Nikolas Cruz's brother was arrested on campus, two students were caught carrying knives and another made online threats

by Terry Spencer and Curt Anderson

PARKLAND, Fla. — Already heightened security was being bolstered Thursday at the Florida high school that became the scene of a massacre last month , with Gov. Rick Scott ordering eight highway patrol troopers to help secure the grounds. The move came after the shooting suspect's brother was arrested on campus, two students were caught carrying knives and another made online threats.

Also, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students will be given clear backpacks they'll be required to use when they return from spring break on April 2. Broward County school district Superintendent Robert Runcie told parents in a two-page letter that metal detectors also may be installed soon, and he outlined other security upgrades including student ID badges and a district-wide effort to require all school visitors to enter through a single door.

The troopers will be stationed at the school indefinitely along with Broward County deputies, leaving an armed guard at every campus entrance point, Scott said in a statement. Before the shooting, the school was patrolled by one armed deputy and unarmed guards. An unspecified number of deputies, some armed with rifles, were added after the school reopened.

"Parents, students and teachers have recently endured one of the worst tragedies in Florida history," Scott said. "They must be assured that every necessary step is being taken to increase safety and ensure no unauthorized people are allowed on campus."

The strengthened security comes three days after suspect Nikolas Cruz's younger brother, Zachary Cruz, was arrested on trespassing charges while riding his skateboard on campus.

Zachary Cruz, 18, is being held on $500,000 bond and Broward County Judge Kim Theresa Mollica has approved a search of his home for weapons. The Broward Sheriff's Office wants him barred from possessing firearms and also involuntarily hospitalized for a mental health evaluation under a state law passed after the Feb. 14 shooting spree that killed 17.

Zachary and Nikolas, 19, both attended Stoneman Douglas. They shared the same biological mother but had different fathers. Both were adopted at very young ages by Roger and Lynda Cruz. Lynda Cruz died in November and their father died some years earlier.

Nickolas Cruz's attorney has said he will plead guilty to 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder if prosecutors will waive the death penalty, which they have refused to do.

Mollica separately imposed a $12,500 bail Wednesday on a Stoneman Douglas student who officials say pulled a small knife on a boy she accused of harassing her and a friend. The SunSentinel reports that her lawyer, Brian Reidy said everyone has "hit the fear button" and that he doesn't "blame a kid for taking a weapon to school, quite frankly, these days."

Meanwhile, Florida residents won't get a chance to vote this fall on adding gun control restrictions to the state constitution. A state panel on Wednesday rejected several proposed restrictions on procedural grounds. A majority of the Florida Constitution Revision Commission voted that the gun control measures were out of order and couldn't be considered under commission rules. The commission is allowed to propose changes to the state constitution.

Elsewhere, several media organizations including The Associated Press asked a judge to determine if additional surveillance video from the school shooting should be released. Last week, the Broward Sheriff's Office released a 27-minute video depicting ex-deputy Scot Peterson's actions remaining outside the building where the shooting took place.

https://www.policeone.com/mass-casualty/articles/472590006-Troopers-to-patrol-Parkland-high-school/

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Police shortage hits cities and small towns across the country

Numerous PDs across the country are experiencing a staff shortage

by PoliceOne Staff

NEW YORK — Numerous police departments across the country are experiencing a staff shortage.

Police experts said the shortage is due to many reasons, including low pay, high risk and negative public perception, according to NBC News . The dwindling number of officers and recruits is affecting law enforcement agencies in both small towns and large metropolitan hubs.

“Departments are struggling to find not only interested, but interested and qualified, candidates to join the force,” said Jim Burch, vice president of the Police Foundation. “With everything happening around policing from salary to criticism, the question many people are asking is ‘is it worth it?'”

While the U.S. economy has been on an uptick in recent years, a blossoming economy also means people have more career choices, said Darrel Stephens, executive director of the Major Cities Chiefs Association. Stephens said many PDs can't always offer the perks and salary private sector jobs can.

“It's not an 8-5 job with weekends off,” Stephens said. “The lifestyle is difficult for a lot of people."

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics , the growth rate for “Police and Detectives” is “slower than average” with a rate of 4 percent compared to 7 percent for other professions. Stephens added that the younger generation is seeking “work-life balance and flexibility, but officers work nights, they work holidays.”

Other factors that are contributing to the shortage is the risks and negative perception officers have to deal with. Donald DeLucca, president of the IACP, said the job is much more vulnerable.

DeLucca is referring to the number of law enforcement fatalities. In 2016, 135 officers were killed in the line of duty, which was the highest in five years, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund . Twenty-one officers were killed in ambush-style attacks - the highest in more than two decades. But in 2017, the number of LODDs dropped to its lowest level in four years.

DeLucca said officers constantly find themselves defusing all kinds of situations, many that fall out of their jurisdictions. He added that not only “are we policing but we also act as de facto social services in many situations.”

Police have also been dealing with negative public perception in recent years. Several high-profile officer-involved shootings, such as the deaths of Michael Brown and Freddie Gray , have led to massive community unrest.

“If so many agencies are struggling with staffing, the issue goes beyond compensation and benefits,” Burch said. “It is a difficult time to be a police officer with the increased amount of criticism and negativity surrounding the profession.”

The decreasing number of experienced officers on the street “could lead to less effective policing and therefore more disorder and crime,” Arthur Lurigio, a criminology professor at Loyola University in Chicago, said.

Burch said when response times become longer due to the shortage of officers, public safety could be at risk.

“If the situation becomes that extreme, police leadership will say it's no longer safe for officers to go into a situation because they don't have any backup,” he said.

https://www.policeone.com/police-recruiting/articles/472573006-Police-shortage-hits-cities-and-small-towns-across-the-country/

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Pennsylvania

Superintendent Says Students Are Armed with Rocks In Case of a School Shooting

by Peggy Lee

SCHUYLKILL COUNTY, Pa. -- There's a rocky controversy when it comes to school safety in Schuylkill County.

The superintendent of the Blue Mountain School District is in the spotlight after telling lawmakers in Harrisburg his students protect themselves against potential school shooters with rocks.

“Every classroom has been equipped with a five-gallon bucket of river stone. If an armed intruder attempts to gain entrance into any of our classrooms, they will face a classroom full students armed with rocks and they will be stoned,” said Dr. David Helsel.

That was Dr. Helsel testifying to the House Education Committee last week in Harrisburg.

The superintendent of the Blue Mountain School District was explaining his unconventional form of protecting the students in their schools in the event of an active shooter situation: give them rocks.

“At one time I just had the idea of river stone, they`re the right size for hands, you can throw them very hard and they will create or cause pain, which can distract,” said Helsel.

Helsel says teachers, staff and students were given active shooter training through a program known as ALICE which stands for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate and they routinely hold evacuation drills for active shooter simulations.

But if a teacher decides to lockdown a classroom, there are rocks in a five-gallon bucket kept in every classroom closet that students could throw if shooters get inside.

Still, Helsel says the rocks are seen as a last resort.

“We have devices installed in our doors that help to secure them, to make it very difficult to break through,” said Helsel. “We also have, we train kids and talk about barricading the doors.”

A teenager who is a senior a Blue Mountain High School and says he and other students like that plan.

“It matters because it will help protect the schools, anything helps, rocks are better than books and pencils.”

Parents do as well.

“At this point, we have to get creative, we have to protect our kids first and foremost, throwing rocks, it's an option,” said Dori Bornstein.

But not everyone thinks this is a practical line of defense.

“I think that's rather comical,” said one college student in Schuylkill Haven.

“It's absurd, arm the teachers,” said a parent in Schuylkill Haven.

Helsel says the district has no plans to arm teachers, however, Blue Mountain does have a maintenance employee who is trained and certified to work as school security and is armed.

And the district plans to have more support staff get the same training to act a security.

http://wnep.com/2018/03/22/superintendent-says-students-are-armed-with-rocks-in-case-of-a-school-shooting/

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New York

Neighborhood policing program builds relationships to cut crime

by Anisha Nandi

In 2017, New York City saw some of its lowest violent crime numbers in decades. The nation's largest city police department reported historic reductions in crime last year, including the first time the number of shooting incidents fell below 800 and the number of murders below 300 — the city's lowest per-capita murder rate in almost 70 years. Other reductions were seen in the number of robberies and burglaries in the city.

With those benchmarks in mind, the NYPD now faces the challenges of sustaining, and attempting to surpass, that progress in 2018. The police force kicked off the year with some key internal promotions including the appointment of Rodney Harrison as Chief of Patrol . At the core of their approach to crime reduction is a concept called neighborhood policing.

"We have more police officers on the streets who are in the process of building relationships," said Harrison. "Having that shared responsibility with the residents of the city of New York, that's a great way of being able to maintain violence at a low level."

That concept of "shared responsibility" is often reiterated by NYPD Commissioner James O'Neill. In order to build a sense of unity, the NYPD is training neighborhood coordination officers through the Neighborhood Policing Program to deepen community relationships and make cops accessible to residents, not just in times of distress but as an integral part of their daily lives.

Officers John Buchanan and Robert Bramble are neighborhood coordination officers at the 79th Precinct, focusing on the people and issues of their Brooklyn community.

"The policing module is changing the way the community and police interact," said Buchanan. "It's taking officers that are generally scattered throughout the precinct everyday and assigning them to the same areas consistently so that if they have an issue, a problem in that area, that they're aware of it and they respond.... A person doesn't have to re-explain their problem over and over. It provides a sense of consistency for the officer and person knowing who's gonna show up when they call 911."

Modern technology also helps make them more accessible. All 36,000 officers in the department have cellphones and many use them as ways to be contacted by their local residents.

"Have you ever had a personal issue like if you had an ailment you had to go see a doctor? You always go see the same doctor," said Chief Harrison. "Well, it's kind of the same thing now. You have police officers in your neighborhood that are always assigned to you and you have access to them and you'll be able to call them when you need them and you'll be able to email them and there's always dialogue going back and forth."

This focus on developing more meaningful connections with neighborhood residents comes amid a tense time in modern policing. Individual cases of police brutality — often caught on video and circulated on social media — have fueled public outrage and heightened scrutiny of the actions of police officers.

Tracie Keesee, PhD, is the Deputy Commissioner of Equity and Inclusion at the NYPD and formerly served as the Deputy Commissioner of Training. In addition to her leadership and work with the NYPD, Keesee also has a doctorate in human and intercultural communications. In her thesis she focused on racial profiling and the interactions "through the car window" between law enforcement and members of the African-American community. That deep understanding of the complex societal dynamics shines through in her work.

"You'll hear a lot of conversations around unconscious bias or implicit bias, and so we're human," said Keesee of the officer's perspective. "With the person on the other side of that window — the driver, African-American, male — you're coming with a history of interactions with law enforcement hoping that it will go well, that you have everything you need for that interaction."

But some in the community say the reality has yet to live up to the promise.

Terrell J. Starr is a senior reporter for The Root and a resident of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, one of the neighborhoods patrolled by neighborhood coordination officers like Buchanan and Bramble. Starr argues that policing is inherently an adversarial role and putting more police officers into an area can actually increase tension with community members, especially minorities.

"The average young black male in New York City, they're not engaging with police officers at that level. The only time they're engaged with a police officer is normally in handcuffs," said Starr.

He remains troubled by how easily police encounters can escalate into the use of deadly force — and dismayed by the justifications that are often given when that happens.

"That's all it takes for a police officer to shoot you or to attack or to apply force: 'I felt.' That's something that Trayvon Martin's mother said when she was talking about policing, 'I felt.' And I hope that a black cop, or even a Latino cop when they look at me, they're not going to have that 'I felt' something or ' I fear for my life ,'" said Starr.

Starr's skepticism also comes from a belief among some residents that cops, even if diverse, have more of a loyalty to their uniform than to the community — considering themselves "blue" before any other color.

Officer Bramble, both a cop and an African-American, disputed this notion.

"As police officers you have the responsibility to police each other, too. We don't just police the street and turn a blind eye to each other," said Bramble. "When people refer to the blue line, I think it's misunderstood. The blue line is a sense of camaraderie.... If you're a police officer and you're going through a hardship — whether it's maybe work-based, it could be emotional, it could be something going on at home — like, you have people that have your back. It's not a cops vs. the community thing."

But police departments nationwide have come under fire for a perceived lack of accountability in the tense atmosphere surrounding police brutality and the use of force in disputed circumstances.

"The problem comes in when a police officer engages in egregious activity and they're not held accountable, that's something that has not been touched at all. That's not an NYPD issue, that's not even a state of New York issue, that's an America issue," said Marc Morial, the president of the National Urban League and former mayor of New Orleans.

Lack of accountability is also a key concern for Starr.

"I don't think we need more contact with police, I think we need less — and more accountability," he said.

In many high-profile incidents where black men died at the hands of police, officers were not charged or were eventually acquitted. In the 2014 death of Eric Garner , the New York City cop who was caught on camera choking him, Daniel Pantaleo, did not face charges . The officers who shot and killed Alton Sterling in Louisiana in 2016 did not face charges either. The same was true of Darren Wilson , who shot and killed Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and the Cleveland officer who shot and killed 12-year-old Tamir Rice .

The officer who shot and killed Philando Castile during a Minnesota traffic stop was was acquitted. In the case of Freddie Gray's death in Baltimore , three cops were acquitted, one mistrial was declared and two cops had charges dropped against them.

The NYPD's training programs aim to address situations that could escalate to violence and prevent the situation from ever reaching the point of an unnecessary fatality.

By putting officers into high-pressure simulations before sending them into the field, the NYPD hopes to prepare officers for difficult situations, such as dealing with someone with mental health issues.

"We do the best that we can to have officers understand that some of these things you can control and some of them will happen so fast that you will have to do and react in a way that you might not find yourself normally doing. And I think that it's important, though, for us to find that balance to make sure they understand the dangers of the job," said Keesee.

"I think what we want to make sure we do here is that we not only have that understanding that safety is an issue but that you also are here to serve and to serve that community. [That] means that you need to learn that balance and that interaction and understand who you're serving."

By focusing on programs that increase community relations and diversity in the force, the NYPD hopes to rebuild some of the trust between city residents and law enforcement.

The NYPD is not the first big city police department to turn to a neighborhood policing strategy. In the 1990s, New Orleans saw a 60 percent drop in violent crime after the mayor at the time, Marc Morial, implemented a combination of community policing and community-oriented development programs. Morial recounted that they went from being a city with one of the highest number of FBI complaints for police brutality and misconduct to having just a handful per year.

Morial called the NYPD's efforts "an ambitious and worthwhile undertaking," but emphasized, "time will tell" if it's fully successful.

He stressed that police strategies alone are not enough: community-oriented programs, such as youth and economic development initiatives, must be coupled with an effort like neighborhood policing to truly have an impact.

"Certainly you've got incredible...reductions in violence in New York. I think the numbers have come down significantly. But it's important that people do not assign all the blame nor all the credit for what the situation is with public safety and crime to law enforcement. It's a wide variety of factors that goes into issues of public safety," said Morial.

Through the difficulties and complexities of policing in the modern era, the NYPD wants their force to connect and be connected with their communities.

"There's a human side of us. We're not a moving force of army," said Chief Harrison. "We're here to serve and protect, and once they see the human side of us, they begin to have a better idea and sense.... They may even want to think about becoming police officers down the road."

Morial seems cautiously optimistic about the changes taking place in New York.

"Now it's still early to be able to evaluate whether this strategy is indeed going to pay long-term dividends, and I caution against reading too much too soon, but I do think that it is the right direction," he said.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nypd-community-policing-lower-crime/

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California

FBI seeks motive for fiery van crash at Calif. air base

Investigators are trying to determine why a man drove a flaming minivan full of propane tanks and gasoling cans through the main gate of a California Air Force Base

by Don Thompson and Paul Elias

ROSEVILLE, Calif. — Investigators are working around the clock as they struggle to determine why a man with no apparent ties to terrorism drove a flaming minivan full of propane tanks and gasoline cans through the main gate of a major Northern California Air Force Base this week.

Hafiz Kazi, 51, died in the Kia minivan Wednesday night after veering through the gate at Travis Air Force Base and crashing, FBI agent Sean Ragan said Friday. Kazi had no known links to terrorism, did not leave behind a manifesto or any threats or explanation, and a video found on a cellphone provided no clue.

"Why did this individual end up at the front gate of Travis Air Base on fire and now deceased? We don't have the answers to that," Ragan said. "We've got a significant amount of investigators assigned to it night and day since this occurred.... They will continue at it until we get those answers."

Investigators know of no one else associated with the incident nor any threats to air base or the community.

Air Force gate personnel initially thought they were dealing with a vehicle accident when Kazi crashed and they realized he was on fire. No shots were fired as he entered the base, and it was only after the fire was out and they broke through the locked minivan doors to aid Kazi that they realized it was loaded with five propane tanks, three gallon-size gasoline cans and several cigarette lighters, Ragan said. Also found was a gym bag with personal effects and three cellphones.

Kazi's body was so badly burned that he had to be identified by fingerprints. Ragan said he is a native of India who has lived in the United States since 1993 and was a permanent legal resident. He never served in the military and has no known ties to the air base, he said.

"We know what happened," Ragan said. "Now the question is why. Why was he there? What led him there? And we don't know the answers to that, quite frankly. So the investigation that we're doing right now is trying to piece together his life, trying to piece together what led up to this event, and attempt to determine why he was there and why he had those items in his vehicle ... They will continue at it until we get the answers."

Ragan said they have been unable to find any of Kazi's family living in the United States. A family member in India has been notified of Kazi's death, Ragan said. He said Kazi appeared to work as a cab driver in the past, but that investigators haven't determined if he was currently employed. It's not clear if he owned the minivan.

"We don't have any evidence of any religious affiliation or anything at this point," Ragan said. "As of right now, we know of no other associates."

Investigators have interviewed some of Kazi's acquaintances and are working on some search warrants, he said. They also are scouring social media, so far without result.

Calls to several numbers associated with Kazi were not returned Friday.

About 10,000 people live and work on the base 55 miles (88 kilometers) northeast of San Francisco.