Terrorist Caught?

A 26-year-old man accused of carrying an assault rifle in a Michigan park remained in custody Friday on a $1 million cash bond.

Houssein Zorkot, of Dearborn, Mich., was arrested on Sept. 8 after witnesses called police to complain about a man with an AK-47, dark clothes and blackened face walking around a park.

"We don't know exactly what his intent was or what he was intending on doing," Dearborn Police Chief Michael Celeski told FOXNews.com.

Police responded to the scene and approached the vehicle Zorkot was driving. Zorkot attempted to flee and was not cooperative with police, Celeski said.

Shame on him. Doesn't he know terrorism is illegal in this country.

Gee, I Feel Safer

Police in Kalamazoo collected 120 guns with their buyback efforts.

Public Safety Chief Dan Weston said the buyback makes the city safer. "While it is impossible to know what violent crime(s) may be avoided because these firearms have been destroyed, we do know that these 120 weapons are no longer available to cause injury or death,'' he said in the press release.

Yep. That'll solve the violent crime problem. Especially when they offer amnesty for turning the gun in!

People can turn in weapons, ammunition and explosives to the police without penalty.

Residents can receive $25 for nonworking, single shot and or .22 caliber firearms; $50 for working handguns and multiple shot long guns; $75 for high capacity hand guns and $100 for assault weapons.

Of course, it was only open to residents turning in "unwanted firearms," not to criminals.

Residents can turn in unwanted firearms at two local events.

I'm glad they made that distinction. Although, I am a little confused. What was the point of this exercise?

The Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety is striving to remove firearms from the streets and keep them out of the hands of criminals.

How is Joe Citizen, by turning in his lawfully-owned weapon, removing firearms from the streets? Big Brother isn't pulling any shenanigans, is he?

Of course, Kalamazoo is in the west side of Michigan. Over here in Detroit, we did our gun buyback at a church... which, ironically, must have been in violation of state law - which prohibits guns at a church or other place of worship.

Narc

A Detroit police narcotics officer, trusted to handle seized drugs as evidence, has been suspended under suspicion that he stole 6 kilograms of cocaine with a street value of about $2.4 million from the department's property room.

Police Chief Ella Bully-Cummings said Thursday that the veteran officer, on the job since 1989, ran a scheme in which he signed out the drugs from the property room as evidence and replaced them with a substance that looked like cocaine.

On the bright side, neighbors reported he threw the best parties on the block and had the biggest mirrors you've ever seen inside his house.

Negligent Discharge

It's a bit old, but another reminder that the professionals need to be careful, too.




I bet that perp crapped his pants. I bet her partner did too.

This is why I live in Detroit instead of NYC

Unbelievable.

Reverend Billy says he wants the New York Police Department to get right with the Constitution.

The performance artist — a cross between a street-corner preacher and an Elvis impersonator (but blond) — was arrested on harassment charges last week while reciting the First Amendment through a megaphone in Manhattan's Union Square. On Monday, he donned his trademark white suit and returned to the scene of his alleged sin to demand that police repent.


Image © Associated Press






"It feels so good to be back on the very spot where I was denied my First Amendment rights by reciting the First Amendment," he told reporters over the din of an NYPD helicopter hovering overhead.

Reverend Billy, whose real name is Bill Talen, was joined by women in red choir robes who sang a hymn version of the amendment, which guarantees freedom of speech. Other activists distributed an amateur videotape of his arrest.

Eyes closed and hands raised, the pretend pastor whooped, "Bill of Rights-elujah!"

Talen, 57, has spent years using his mock persona as a fire-and-brimstone evangelist to rail against consumer culture — what he portrays as the Disneyfication of Manhattan. He was arrested this year on misdemeanor trespassing charges for protesting at a Starbucks; that case is pending.

His latest run-in with the law began after he turned up to support people gathering in Union Square last Friday for the monthly Critical Mass bike ride asserting cyclists' rights.

The NYPD has aggressively policed the rides, arguing that they can interfere with traffic and threaten public safety. Advocates for Critical Mass have accused police of infringing on the riders' constitutional rights to free speech and free assembly.

The video shows Talen preaching the "44 beautiful words of the First Amendment" to a visibly annoyed congregation of police commanders huddled a few feet away. At one point, an officer approaches and warns him that his sermon is breaking the law.

"What's the law?" Talen asks.

"Harassment," the officer answers.

When Talen persists, another officer comes up behind him and slaps on handcuffs. When being put in a police van, the satirist shouts, "We have a right to peaceful assembly!"

Talen was held overnight before being released without bail. A criminal complaint alleges he harassed police officers by approaching them and "repeatedly shouting at such officers through a non-electric bullhorn."

Civil rights attorney Norman Siegel, appearing with Talen on Monday, called on prosecutors to drop the charges.

"The arrest was a false arrest," Siegel said. "What Reverend Billy did last Friday night does not constitute illegal conduct."

Prosecutors declined to comment. The New York Police Department, contacted Monday evening, said it had no comment.

Snitching... or Punishing Lawless Murderers?

I don't understand what people are thinking when they refuse to cooperate with police in murder investigations.

Sure, I understand people are afraid the perp will come back and try to take them out. That fear makes sense, although if the thug has already demonstrated the capacity to murder, how will refusing to talk to the police help a witness feel safer? And let's be real, it is all about feelings. Refusing to talk to the police doesn't make one safer.

And what is it about people who refuse to "snitch" on a thug? I can rationalize a gang member refusing to give up a fellow gang member, but what about Joe or Jane Citizen who witness a brutal murder committed by someone they don't know on a victim they do know - how is talking to the police "snitching" on the perp?

Both fear and the "refusal to snitch" is really hurting Detroit.

She heard the gunshots but she wouldn't look out the window.

She didn't want to see anything, didn't want to know anything.

She refused to give her name for fear the shooters would come back for her.

That was one neighbor's reaction to a shooting early Wednesday in northwest Detroit that killed two, including a woman who was eight months pregnant.

"Whoever it was definitely ain't playing," the neighbor said. "And I don't want to play with them."

It is a problem that Detroit police have said plagues the department: Witnesses to crimes refuse to step forward.

Some succumb to anti-snitching campaigns that deem cooperating with police dishonorable. Others fear retaliation.

[...]

Detroit police said the problem is growing. At a triple shooting last week in which a 35-year-old man and 18-year-old woman were killed, people who acknowledged they saw the attack refused to talk.

One man wearing a "Stop Snitching" T-shirt watched as police investigated the scene.

That type of reaction cannot be tolerated, said Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy.

"I hope people aren't buying into this anti-snitch nonsense. Let me assure the public that we will not close up shop and stop prosecuting criminals," Worthy said. "As a society, we cannot allow a conspiracy of silence to creep into the criminal justice system."

[...]

One veteran Detroit officer, who has dealt with the frustration of encountering reluctant witnesses at crime scenes, said fear plays a large role in residents' refusal to cooperate.

"No one wants to talk around here, and I can't blame a lot of them," he said, asking that he not be identified out of concern about being reprimanded. "This is a violent town."

Who Wins When Both Are "Only Ones"?

Who wins when both parties to a dispute are "only ones"? The one breaking the law?

The attorney for the Detroit police sergeant hit with a Taser in December by a Farmington Hills police officer after a traffic stop is hoping the Oakland County Prosecutor will drop misdemeanor charges against his client.

[...]

Arnold Reed said his client maintains his innocence on the charges of running a red light and interfering with a police officer.

Here is the background of the incident, involving a 12-year veteran of the Deeeetroit Police Department. The officer is accused of:running a red light in his personal automobile in the Detroit suburb of Farmington Hills - and he wasn't on Detroit Police business. He was in uniform.

A Farmington Hills officer followed [the Detroit cop] to his home and used a Taser to subdue him after [the Detroit cop] refused to give up his gun and later reached for it. An internal investigation cleared the Farmington Hills officer of any wrongdoing.

If found guilty, the "running a red light" charge should only set him back a couple of hundred dollars in fines... plus higher insurance rates. The other charge, "interfering with a police officer," is a misdemeanor.

Shame on IKEA

I hate shopping with a passion. Now I am guaranteed to never set foot in Leviathan's den.

All,

While I was driving south on 101 I passed by the Ikea store which has a big electronic sign.

There was one ad that said:

"$1000 REWARD For info on people with guns”

The sign had a silhouette of an AR and the logo for a police dept. The sign advised people to report gun owners at the following number 650 321 1112

Ikea appears to own the sign but they use a company called Smart Sign Media to take care of the ads that run. (800-549-7300)

I called Smart Sign Media and was told by "Cheryl" that the ad was placed by the East Palo Alto Police. They were offering up to $1000.00 reward.

I called the 650-321-1112 number and was routed to a lady in police admin at 650-853-3160. I could not get the lady's name but she told me that the program was designed to get the public to report young men who were seen with guns in the street.

When I asked her what happened with these reports she said that these were only considered “incidents" until an officer checked them out.

When I asked her what she meant by checking them out, she said they would dispatch an officer to the address and see if the person had the “proper paperwork" for the weapon. If not, they would confiscate the gun and hold it pending further investigation. At this point a true report would be filed.

When I asked her to define "proper paperwork”, the process for getting a gun back, etc. she got very evasive and said I had to talk to a sergeant. I was then left on terminal hold. I called back twice with the same result.

I need the following:

A. Include a request to have as many people as possible call 650 853 3160 and ask to speak to the sergeant on duty. Get as much info as you can about the program and the details.

B. Get people to start calling Ikea in East Palo Alto and find out why they are allowing this to go on.

C. Get this information out to as many other 2A groups as possible.

Many thanks,

Mark Towber

President

Golden State 2nd Amendment Council

H/T War on Guns

Hope For Liberal Canada

I was reading through the Detroit Free Press sports pages the other day, when I saw a headline reading "UDM softball player one of Canada's best." It was a short, nice article and I read it.

What amazed me about this girl was the brief profile they had on her.

Grade point average: 3.8.

Major: Criminal justice. "I want to be a police officer. I need to be out there doing something. It interests me, and you get to carry around a gun."

Guns? "It's the ultimate thing to have one in your hands."

There was more, but that was enough to know the U of Detroit-Mercy had a quality student on their team.

The Anniversary of "No Duty To Protect Us"

Today is an awful anniversary. Twenty-two years ago this month, an awful criminal act was committed. In response, the courts committed an even worse act.

Early morning on March 16, 1975, two thugs broke down the back door of a three-story home in Washington, D.C. Three women and a child shared this residence. One woman was attacked and raped on the second floor, while her housemates on the third floor heard her screams and called the police.

Since the first call was assigned a low priority, the responding officers left quickly after no one answered when they knocked on the door.

The women frantically called the police a second time. The dispatcher promised help would come—but no officers were even dispatched.

A long time after things went quiet, the third-story women came down to aid their roommate. Only, the attackers weren't gone. They kidnapped, robbed, raped, and beat all three women over a fourteen hour period.

The women later sued the city and the D.C. police for negligently failing to protect them or even to answer their second call, but the court held that government had no duty to respond to their call or to protect them.

The Second Amendment is about your right to protect yourself. The Founding Fathers' believed you had a right - and a corresponding responsibility - to defend yourself and those who depend on you. We can't let government abuse this right. After all, no one else is responsible to protect us.

It Wasn't Police Brutality

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about a local story involving the shooting of an alleged armed robber - shot by the police 18 times - and how I thought the police were justified. Wow - did I receive hate email! Everyone thinks 18 shots are "excessive" and "brutal."

First off, isn't armed robbery brutal? Excuse me, alleged armed robbery.

Next, isn't it just plain stupid to wave guns at cops? Isn't there some personal responsibility required?

Let's look at the facts, then we'll get to the update.

• (Name withheld)allegedly robbed Passport Pizza at gun point
• He led police on a car chase
• At the conclusion of the car chase, he fled his car with a gun in hand
• It turns out the gun was actually a BB gun
• The BB gun looked like a standard issue lethal weapon
• Police officers, multiple times, ordered him to drop the gun and get on the ground
• He ignored them and pointed the gun at an officer
• Five police officers fired multiple times, hitting him 18 times

Ok, here's the update, then we'll look at analysis:

The Macomb County Prosecutor's Office said Thursday that five township police officers were "justified in the use of deadly force" in the shooting of a 35-year-old Mt. Clemens man, according to Clinton Township police.

The officers have been on administrative leave since the Jan. 27 incident.

Most people wrote emails saying the cops should have shot the gun out of his hand. Since 18 shots seems to make people upset, let's analyze why the police were justified:

1. Police can't shoot the alleged perp in the hand and disable him for three reasons. First, this was a life-and-death situation according to the information they had at the time. This man had, according to their information, just committed armed robbed at a store (a violent crime, not some jay-walking ticket). He had a gun. Second, he pointed the gun at them. Officers are trained to shoot at the center-of-mass and continue shooting until the threat has ended. Third, if the cops could just shoot the gun out of his hand, trial attorneys would be all over the township with lawsuits. The police may not discharge a firearm except to end the threat by firing at the center-of-mass.
2. He pulled a gun on five cops... 18 shots means each officer fired three to four times. Since the "double tap" isn't taught anymore, even among civilian self-defense classes, there is no way three or four shots from an officer can be construed as "overkill." Sure - there were 18 shots total, but that came from FIVE police officers.
3. All five officers had to fire. You can't have one guy shoot and the rest watch.
4. He pulled a gun on cops (felony) after fleeing in a car chase (felony) - after an (alleged) armed robbery (felony).
5. After Clinton Township officers shot (name withheld), deputies from the Macomb County Sheriff's Office shot him with a Taser because he was still holding the gun after being shot.
6. He didn't die on the scene. The police really did shoot until the threat had ended.
   
7. Witnesses corroborate the police version of the story.
8. So what if it was a BB gun? That is irrelevant. This man created his own problem when he produced a threat to police. Imagine if this happened in your house. You walk downstairs and this guy pulls out a gun, you shoot him, the cops come and find out it was a BB gun. Do you go to jail for murder or did you have reasonable belief this guy was going to shoot?

It wasn't police brutality. It was legitimate self-defense and appropriate action taken by policemen put in a potentially life-threatening situation based on all the information they had. Case closed.

As a sidenote, I personally want to thank all the LEOs out there for working to keep our streets safe.

Belated Update

I wrote about a shootout between Warren Police and a teenager last year. The official word was the kid pulled a gun on cops and they shot him "six or eight times."

Well, that was wrong.

A memorial this weekend for a teenager shot 27 times by Warren police last year will include youth poetry, music and questions about police brutality and racial discrimination...

(the teenager), 19, a Hmong, died in September when police say they shot the Warren resident after he pointed a gun at them in his home. A wrongful-death lawsuit against the Warren Police Department is pending.

27 times seems a little, well, excessive for self-defense.

Now, Who's Fault Is This?

Michigan State Police said this week that they're still investigating the shooting death of an armed robbery suspect last weekend by Clinton Township police.

Once the investigation is finished, the case will be turned over to the Macomb County Prosecutor's Office, State Police Detective Sgt. Edward Price said. He declined to discuss details.

Five township officers were placed on administrative leave after they shot (name withheld), 35, of Mt. Clemens in a confrontation that followed a robbery at Passport Pizza, 35510 Groesbeck, and a car chase. Police originally said (the alleged perpetrator) had pointed a gun at them, but it has since been revealed that it was BB gun that resembles a lethal weapon.

He was shot multiple times and died at a nearby hospital.

Now, it is tragic whenever anyone dies. How can anyone have any questions in this case, though? Come on, waving a weapon at police after an armed robbery? Who cares if it was a BB gun. That is just plain suicidal.

Shoot Out

The Michigan suburb of Warren had a shootout yesterday.

Warren police are investigating whether their officers acted properly when they shot and killed a teenager inside his Warren home Sunday morning.

Police say the teen shot at officers before they opened fire on him at his house in the 13000 block of Martin Road. The officers are on routine paid administrative leave while the incident is investigated.

Family members identified the teen as (name withheld), 18, whose family moved to Michigan about 15 years ago from Laos in southeast Asia.

Police declined to divulge details, including the identities and number of officers who shot the teen.

Police said they arrived at the house at 9:45 a.m. to arrest the teen after getting a call from family members who said he shot a gun into the ceiling of their home the previous evening and stole his father's truck. Family members said (name withheld) was angry his father refused to let him borrow the truck.

The next morning he returned and police were called. Police whisked family members from the house before approaching the teen in the basement.

"There were shots, maybe eight or 12," (a neighbor) recalled.

Of course, there is the typical big stink that the officers' acted with malous, that the kid was shot indiscriminantly, etc.

(the victim's) cousin (name withheld) painted a different picture, saying (victim's) rage caught everyone by surprise. He was a typical teen who enjoyed hunting and fishing, Vang said...

Neighbor (name withheld), a retired fifth-grade teacher, said she delighted in listening to the teen's younger sisters laugh and play while she sat on the porch across the street.

Yet, both sides can't be right. There is a different picture painted by other neighbors.

Neighbors weren't shocked to see police at the house. They said the teen often fought with family members and once smashed his own windshield with a hammer.

"Police were there at least six times this year... I'd see him smashing and breaking things. One day I saw him come out with a rifle. I knew it was only a matter of time before something bad happened."

Any police shooting is a terrible thing - but it is wrong to automatically assume the police did something wrong. If some guy is coming at them with a rifle, it doesn't take a brain surgeon to figure out they will draw and shoot. Who can blame them? Obviously the family felt threatened and frightened.

No one wins in a police shootout. The police aren't happy... they may have done the right thing, they may not have had any other option without losing officers, but they aren't happy about it.

A medical examiner is to conduct an autopsy today to determine the cause of death.

I am not a doctor, but I'd bet the cause of death is probably the "eight or twelve" shots fired by police. Which, looking at the reporting in this case, makes it look like the police just opened fire on this kid. Perhaps they should have withheld any details until the investigation was finished.

Private Police Force?

Wow. Here is an interesting concept: Private Police to fight illegal immigration. This story, of course, out of CAL-EE-FORN-EE-AH.

Fed up with what it says is a failure on the part of authorities to act on the area's illegal immigrant problem, a group purporting to be residents of the affluent, sprawling and isolated La Cresta, Tenaja and Santa Rosa communities is vowing to take matters into its own hands.

A group calling itself Private Police Force announced last week on a new Web site that it will begin doing the job U.S. Border Patrol and the Riverside County Sheriff's Department aren't doing by conducting citizens' arrests on illegal immigrants and detaining them.

If it follows through on its promise, the group would be taking things further than other anti-illegal immigration groups, such as The Minutemen Project, which have previously deployed their members to monitor the U.S.-Mexico border and only report illegal immigrant sightings.

The Private Police Force is threatening to actually detain illegal immigrants.

"They will be handcuffed to the Oak Trees," according to the group's Web site, so they can be picked up by authorities.

"Don't treat this website lightly," the group states. "We will make Citizens Arrests on Illegal Aliens. We will File Criminal and Civil Complaints if you Hire or House an Illegal. If you have sold a vehicle to an illegal, we will prosecute you under the DMV law too. If you house an illegal, we will also prosecute you under the Zoning Laws."

Watch Out for the Police Car Upgrade

photo © avonhill.com

Ho-hum. Look Honey, a police car in a speedtrap up ahead.




Watch out for new, upgraded police cars. The old Ford Crown Vic is facing cool, stiff competition from Dodge.

Presenting: The Dodge Magnum Police Interceptor
photo © njlawman.com

The Chrysler Group, which had all but dropped out of the police car market over the past five years, is making another run at law enforcement agencies. After introducing police versions of the Charger and Magnum last fall, the Chrysler Group has secured contracts for more than 3,000 vehicles for law enforcement agencies...Early adopters praise the Charger and Magnum for their acceleration and handling...The Charger and Magnum received a boost in October when Hemi-powered versions of these cars placed first and second, respectively, in acceleration, braking and top speed in the Michigan State Police's performance testing.

And here is the Dodge Charger...
photo © allpar.com

Here is an interesting aside: The Michigan State Police have their own color: Michigan State Police Blue. This special shade of blue is not allowed to be used by any other agency and is not allowed to be used on cars sold to the public.

photo © customcopcars.com

Tragedy and Justice

911 is there to help, right? Emergency services are in most communities around the nation, but in Detroit a few months ago, a couple of 911 operators just plain didn't care.

Robert Turner, then a five year old child, called 911 when his mother passed out. He was dying of an enlarged heart. He called at 5:59 p.m. for 43 seconds, and was told by a very mean operator to "stop pranking" the 911 line and that he would be in trouble with the police if he called back. No investigators were sent, even though he clearly described what was happening to his mother. He finally called back again at 9:02 p.m. for 1 minute, 16 seconds. He again received a stern rebuke and a threat from the operator. Police were sent to the home later in the evening and found a dead mother - a death that should have been prevented if those two did their job.

Now, these operators are facing criminal charges for their actions (and lack of actions). As the Detroit Free Press reports:

In a move viewed as unprecedented, the Wayne County prosecutor charged two 911 operators Wednesday for dismissing a 5-year-old boy's calls for help on the day his mother collapsed and died...

In announcing the misdemeanor charges at a news conference, Prosecutor Kym Worthy said: "The actions of these two 911 operators were egregious. ... This is not what we expect or should expect at any time from our 911 operators."

The two operators face up to a year in jail if convicted.

FBI Still Looking For Jimmy Hoffa

One of the things I remember as a kid growing up in Michigan was the mysterious disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa. The former leader of the Teamsters was last seen in 1975 at a restaurant in Bloomfield Township, Michigan. Apparently the FBI had a good lead recently on the remains of Jimmy Hoffa.

Over the years, the Feds always tear up something around Michigan, looking for Hoffa's remains. Of course, there are the rumors that he was buried out-of-state, like underneath Giants Stadium in New York.

In May 2004, authorities ripped up the floorboards of a Detroit home where Frank Sheeran, a one-time Hoffa ally, had claimed he shot Hoffa to death. But no evidence related to the infamous, unsolved killing was found.

Sheeran's claim was included in a book published months after he died in 2003 at age 83...A New Jersey mob hit man who died in March reportedly made a similar deathbed claim.

Richard "The Iceman" Kuklinski gave author Philip Carlo what he claimed were graphic details of Hoffa's killing, The Record of Bergen County, N.J., reported.

"The Ice Man: Confessions of a Mafia Contract Killer" is scheduled for release in July.

The FBI was digging up spots on a horse farm in Milford Township, about 30 miles outside of Detroit.

Deb Koskovich, 52, said one of her neighbors told her after she moved next door to the farm in 1985 that Hoffa was buried there.

"He laughed and we laughed and that was the end of that," said Koskovich, adding that she would be surprised if Hoffa's remains were found. "I never thought about it again until today."

Tags: Jimmy Hoffa

Never Give Up Hope

An amazing story out of Oakland County, Michigan, originally released by Sheriff Michael Bouchard and the Detroit News.

(Sheriff Bouchard, of course, is expected to be the Republican answer to Democratic US Senator Debbie Stabenow in November. The NRA love-fest never ceases. He receives top marks from the most famous gun organization in the US, even though he vehemently opposed concealed carry and several other firearms freedoms... but I digress...)

On Mother's Day weekend in 1976, Laura Gooder's estranged husband, Eric Douglas Nielsen, picked up 21-month-old Genevieve Rachel Nielsen for an overnight visit. They never returned.

This Mother's Day weekend, a police officer arrived Saturday at Gooder's home in Frederic, Mich., with news that her daughter - now 31 - had been found, The Detroit News reported.

Gooder's daughter had been raised under another name and grew up believing her mother had been killed in an auto accident. Law enforcement officials declined to release her other name...

Eric Nielsen was incarcerated in Arizona under a different identity on an unrelated charge, authorities said. A tip led investigators to visit an Arizona prison Thursday, said Michael Bouchard, sheriff in Michigan's Oakland County.

Gooder's daughter, who now has a child of her own, was traumatized by the revelations, Bouchard said...

Last year, U.S. marshals joined the search for Gooder's daughter, and a judge charged Eric Nielsen with kidnapping. He had been wanted on a state kidnapping warrant since 1976.

Tags: Crime , kidnap , Michigan

Crime Fighting in England - Wouldn't Arrests Work Better?

Photo (AFP/File/Joshua Roberts)

Actual Caption From the Sunday London Express:

Police in northeast England have resorted to a more traditional method for crime-fighting, by enlisting the help of a town cryer, the Sunday Express reported.
Here's what he says whilst ringing a handbell:

"Oyez, oyez, Beware! Burglars, thieves and vagabonds are operating in this area.
"Keep all windows and doors locked. Shut it, lock it, don't give them the opportunity!"

I guess it's cheaper than actually arresting the crooks.

- as reported at Mullings.


In a related note - the London Express also reports that the government is simply "cautioning" - not arresting - at least 40 rapists annually.

crime , England