Former St. Pete Policeman Reported To Be New Drug Czar
The man who is reported to be President Barack Obama’s choice as the nation’s “drug czar” was once a St. Petersburg police officer.
R. Gil Kerlikowske, a 36-year law enforcement veteran who has been Seattle’s police chief since August 2000, began his law enforcement career in 1972 as an officer for the St. Petersburg Police Department, according to his resume.
He eventually became a candidate for police chief in that city, but was not selected in 1992.
Now, Kerlikowske is reported to be Obama’s soon-to-be announced choice to oversee the Office of National Drug Control Policy, an appointment that will require Senate confirmation.
He’s held a Washington job before.
Kerlikowske was the former deputy director for the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services that provides federal grants to local police agencies in support of community policing services.
Before that, he served as the police commissioner for Buffalo, N.Y., where his selection by the mayor became the first outside appointment in 30 years. He also served as the chief of police for two Florida cities, Fort Pierce and Port St. Lucie, and in the U.S. Army Military Police before arriving in St. Petersburg.
Chicago Police Superintendent won’t name cops with complaints
WIRES
CHICAGO, IL
Chicago’s top police official is defying orders from two federal judges to turn over lists of officers who have repeated complaints filed against them by the public, saying it would unfairly inflict harm on some members of the force.
Turning over the lists would brand officers as “repeaters,” even though complaints against them may not have been resolved, Superintendent Jody Weis told the court in a lawsuit filed by a Chicago woman.
It also “will reduce morale and cause officers to hesitate to act in life and death emergencies, when action is necessary and appropriate to protect the officer, his or her partner and citizens,” Weis said.
Weis sent his statement to U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman and Magistrate Judge Maria Valdez on Friday – one day after the deadline for producing the lists.
The judges ordered him to produce the names in a lawsuit filed by Donna Moore, a Chicago mother who claims an officer abused her 11-year-old son and 13-year-old daughter when arresting them in a playground incident.
Weis “did not make this decision lightly, but he felt very strongly that providing the plaintiff with the lists she requested would severely harm the Chicago police department,” city law department spokeswoman Jennifer Hoyle said in an e-mail.
“In the short term, we expect that the plaintiff will seek relief in court, most likely by seeking a contempt of court finding,” she said.
The city offered to produce redacted lists or perform any statistical analysis without disclosing names but those suggestions were rejected, Hoyle said.
The city maintains an open complaint system in which all complaints are registered regardless of their validity and the requested lists would contain the names of officers who had been exonerated, Hoyle said.
Moore attorney G. Flint Taylor said he is preparing to ask the court to take action, possibly a fine or other sanctions, to force Weis to turn over the lists.
“I’ve seen the city cover up evidence, I’ve seen the city delay and obstruct but I’ve never in 40 years seen the city willfully defy a court order,” Taylor said.
Valdez ordered the city to produce the lists on Dec. 5. The city objected and took its objection to Gettleman. But he overruled the objection on Jan. 8.
One of the lists would contain the name and star number of each officer with five or more citizen complaints. The other would contain the same information but focus specifically on excessive force complaints. Under the court orders the lists would go back five years.
Massachusetts Cops Say Taser Use Decreases Officer Injuries
BOSTON GLOBE
MASSACHUSETTS
Police in Massachusetts cities and towns have sharply expanded their use of Tasers to control criminal suspects over the last three years, despite a call for suspension of the stun gun’s use so experts can study its risks.
The police in Massachusetts communities reported using Tasers in 229 incidents between September 2007 and September 2008, a fourfold increase from three years earlier, according to state figures. Police used Tasers on the mentally ill and substance abusers, and in some instances shocked a person multiple times.
The Fall River police department reported 45 Taser incidents in the last year, the most in the state, including a case in March when police fired the weapon 11 times to subdue a man described by his family as mentally disturbed. Tewksbury police used 11 shocks last February to bring an intoxicated man into custody.
Tasers fire two barbed darts with attached insulated wires that deliver a five-second, 50,000-volt shock. Police who favor Tasers say they are highly effective, nonlethal weapons against violent suspects that inflict no long-term harm.
“I would credit the Taser with preventing injuries to officers, suspects, and innocent civilian bystanders,” said Fall River police spokesman Sergeant Paul Gauvin. “I would also credit the Taser with bringing quick resolution to events as they escalate.”
“In each and every one of these cases, the Taser was used appropriately,” he said of his department’s use.
But some Massachusetts police have chosen not to use Tasers.
Quincy Police Chief Paul Keenan said while he is keeping an open mind about obtaining Tasers for his department, he needs more information. “I know there have been some deaths attributed to Tasers,” he said. “At this point, there just isn’t enough known about them. I’m not ready to jump in with both feet.”
Late last year, Amnesty International, the human rights group, produced an exhaustive assessment of Taser risks. The group reported that at least 334 people across the United States died after police used Tasers on them since 2001. The report said that while it is difficult to determine whether Tasers caused the fatalities, more study should be undertaken.
The report said some of the deaths appear to be associated with heart problems. It also criticized the use of Tasers on the mentally ill, the elderly, or children, and it pointed out that a shock from a Taser, which causes a sudden loss of muscle control, can lead to injuries if subjects fall on hard surfaces.
The National Institute of Justice, the research arm of the US Department of Justice, says on its website that exposure to Tasers “is safe in the vast majority of cases,” particularly with “normal healthy adults.” However, the agency said, its safety assurances “may not be applicable in small children, those with diseased hearts, the elderly, those who are pregnant, and other at-risk individuals.”
The Justice report says its preliminary review of deaths following exposure to Tasers indicates many are associated “with continuous or repeated discharge.”
A spokesman for TASER International said the company stands by the “safety and quality” of its products.
“Taser devices have saved thousands of lives worldwide and dramatically reduce injuries of officers and suspects in every community they are deployed,” said Steve Tuttle, vice president of communications.
No deaths associated with Tasers have been reported in Massachusetts, but there have been injuries.
Last July in Mansfield, for example, after police used a Taser to subdue Michael R. Pelick, the allegedly intoxicated 42-year-old collapsed backwards, struck his head on the pavement, and was rushed, bleeding, to the hospital, according to a police report. Mansfield police do not carry the weapons, but had called for backup from Foxborough police, whose officers used a Taser to control Pelick.
As part of the training for Tasers, many departments require officers to submit to shocks by Tasers. Numerous videos on the Web show police, when zapped, screaming in apparent agony and collapsing to the ground, but they appear to recover quickly.
“It’s a very excruciating five seconds,” said Methuen Police Lieutenant Frank Korn, who said he has had the experience. “Five seconds feels like 30 seconds. It’s extremely painful, but once the current stopped, I felt fine. I was very satisfied with it, and it gave me a lot of confidence in the use of Tasers.”
Police in Massachusetts began using Tasers in 2004. Forty-four communities are certified to use the weapons, compared to 37 a little more than a year ago. The Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security certifies local police departments to carry Tasers, requires training of officers before deployment, and requires a running tally of use.
FBI agents do not carry Tasers, according to spokeswoman Gail Marcinkiewicz, spokeswoman for the FBI’s Boston office, nor do the Massachusetts State Police.
The executive office of public safety does not review local police use to evaluate the weapon’s possible risk or misuse, according to spokesman Terrel Harris.
In Fall River, police used the stun guns in 45 incidents in the latest 12-month reporting period, compared to eight in the previous 24 months. During the more recent 12 months, the Tasers were fired 117 times – indicating multiple shocks on several suspects. Police in Attleboro, Barnstable, Framingham, North Adams, Wareham, and Worcester reported 10 or more incidents in the latest 12-month period.
Gauvin said he had not been aware that his department used Tasers more than others until an interview with the Globe.
But some departments rarely use the Tasers. During the year ending in September, the weapon was never fired in the line of duty in 13 Massachusetts communities and only once in six others.
Police say frequency of use and multiple use could be associated with the population density in a community, its high crime rate, and violence associated with its criminals.
Still, police in some high-crime cities, such as Boston, do not carry Tasers.
A Globe survey of police reports in Massachusetts involving Taser use in Framingham, Fall River, and Tewksbury indicates subjects and officers received minor wounds from Tasers. In several instances, however, police used Tasers in ways that contradict the warnings by Amnesty International.
In Framingham, during the arrest of James A. Mushinsky, 45, allegedly high on cocaine, police efforts to subdue him backfired. Officers used pepper spray and a Taser on Mushinsky five times while he allegedly kicked and flailed his arms to avoid arrest. In the melee, officers inadvertently pepper-sprayed three of their colleagues and stunned two of them with a Taser, the report said.
And in Fall River a man who was “in need of mental health evaluation” and “wasn’t making sense in his speech” was stunned 11 times last March after he tried to break free from a gurney in an ambulance, according to Gauvin. The man’s name was not revealed, since he was not charged with a crime.
Gauvin defended the police officer as having exhibited “great judgment” for eventually calming a possibly threatening situation.
He said eight of the shocks were “drive stuns,” a method of placing the Taser directly on the body. Drive stuns cause pain but not incapacitation. “The officer used discretion in employing the Taser,” Gauvin said.
Fall River, Framingham, and Tewksbury police spokesmen said in interviews that they always arrange for subjects and officers to receive medical care after being shocked. Police spokesmen in Attleboro, Fall River, Foxborough, Framingham, Methuen, North Adams, Norton, Tewksbury, and Wareham said they do not know of an instance where Taser use by their departments was unjustified.
Jackson County Prepares for Addition of K-9 Unit
While many places are going through job cuts because of hard economic times, one local law enforcement department is requesting to add two positions.
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Department requested funding for the addition of two patrol deputies at Tuesday’s county commission meeting. The department currently employs 23 patrol deputies, but they’ll soon be moving at least one of them to a brand new K-9 Unit.
Jackson County Sheriff Lou Roberts says they’re hoping the new unit will help them better combat the county’s drug problem.
“The one thing that was made clear to me by the citizens is that they were tired of the drugs and drugs being transported across our roadways in the county,” Sheriff Roberts says, “And one of the ways we can combat that is to have a K-9 program.”
He says in the last two-and-half weeks they’ve made 12 drug arrests, which all initiated in a traffic stop. He hopes to have one officer able to conduct stops while the K-9 officer would work with the dog to inspect the vehicle.
He hopes to be able to fill the empty spots left by the new K-9 officers because they’re already short staffed.
The national average for officers per thousand-population is 2.4, but Jackson County’s average is already a lot lower at 1.7.
The drawback is the cost. Times are tough for everyone, so how could they afford to add these two positions, and how much would it cost?
The two patrol officers and their equipment would cost a total of $78,000. Sheriff Roberts met with the Jackson County Commission Tuesday night to request the funding.
“I know that times are hard and they may not award this to me but at the same time I feel that it’s my duty and responsibility to try to take every action that we can to try to prevent any illegal drugs from being on our streets.”
Commissioners ultimately decided to table a vote on the additional officers, while Sheriff Roberts seeks out other possible sources to fund the officers.
Sheriff Roberts says the Sheriff’s Department will go ahead with the K-9 program, regardless. It is scheduled to begin in March.
Another update on injured Jeffersonville Officers
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Two Jeffersonville Police Department officers who were shot in the line of duty Thursday spoke to each other Sunday for the first time since the incident.
Patrolman Keith Broady, 32, was able to walk from his room at University Hospital in Louisville to the room of Cpl. Dan Lawhorn, 39. Lawhorn sat up in bed, and they talked about how each was doing.
“It was very emotional, very moving to see Broady walk into Daniel’s room,” Lawhorn’s wife, Dana Lawhorn, said.
Family members of the officers held a press conference at the hospital Monday afternoon to thank the community for its support.
“I want to express my gratitude for everyone who has been part of making this a little easier,” Broady’s brother, Jason, said.
Keith Broady’s two brothers — Jason, 39, and Darin, 29 — are police officers. They thanked people who called to offer support, sent cards and food and prayed for their brother.
“My heart goes out to the spouses of all the officers,” Jason Broady said. “I know this hit home.”
Broady’s wife, Kristen, is six months pregnant, and the couple has a 2-year-old daughter. She said it was the worst moment of her life when Jason told her what happened and took her to the hospital. After 30 minutes, she was able to see her husband.
“He said, ‘babe, I’m OK,’” she said.
Keith Broady was shot in the chest with the bullet barely missing his protective vest.
“He still has a huge scar across his chest where they had to go in and operate very deep. [He] still has the huge bullet wound on the side — very painful,” she said.
Keith Broady’s brothers said they know the risk of their jobs, but it did not make it any easier when they found out their brother was shot.
“When you get a call saying it’s one of your brothers, I can’t tell you what it feels like. It hurts,” Darin Broady said.
Broady’s wife also met with Floyd County Sheriff’s Department Deputy Joel White and his wife. White was injured after being shot in 2007 while responding to a domestic disturbance report.
“There’s an instant connection,” she said. “It’s a club you don’t want more members in.”
Lawhorn was shot twice in his femur bone near his hip. His femoral artery was severed, and he could have died if the bleeding was not stopped quickly.
Lawhorn’s wife thanked three officers in particular who she believes saved her husband’s life.
Officers Greg Sumler and Tom Mitchell and Assistant Chief Kevin Morlan worked together to stop the blood loss. Lawhorn’s mother, Rebecca Croft, said Mitchell saved her son’s life by wrapping a dog leash around his leg to act as a tourniquet.
“[Lawhorn] was moments away from not being here today,” Croft said. “[Mitchell’s] actions saved his life.”
Lawhorn still could lose his leg, but the outlook is more optimistic after doctors found a pulse in his foot after he was taken out of surgery and moved into the intensive care unit. The family expects to know more within the next couple of weeks.
Kristen Broady said she fully expects her husband will want to return to law enforcement because it is “in his blood.” Dana Lawhorn said has not talked to her husband about the future, but will support him no matter what he wants to do.
Both families know the long road to recovery is far from over. The officers still face multiple surgeries and rehabilitation.
“Everything’s been so surreal, so we’re just taking it day by day,” Dana Lawhorn said.
SO YOU KNOW
Upcoming events and accounts to honor Cpl. Dan Lawhorn and Patrolman Keith Broady, two Jeffersonville Police Department officers shot Thursday in the line of duty.
FISH FRY
• FRIDAY — 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 5 to 7 p.m., St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 321 E. Market St., Jeffersonville. Fish, fries, slaw and homemade desserts and bread. Cost is $8 for all-you-can-eat dine in or $7 for carry-out. All proceeds benefit the officers. Call 812-282-1108 for more information.
BLOOD DRIVE
• MONDAY — 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Clark County Red Cross blood center, 1807 E. Eighth St., Jeffersonville. Call 812-283-8416 for more information.
BANK ACCOUNTS
• Accounts for monetary donations have been set up at Fifth Third Bank, First Savings Bank, New Washington State Bank and Republic Bank
CARDS AND LETTERS
• Should be sent to Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 100, 4711 New Middle Road, Jeffersonville, IN, 47130
SUPPORTING HEROES
• This group — which supports officers who fall in the line of duty and their families — will host an informational meeting at 7 tonight at Jeffersonville Fire Department headquarters, 2204 E. 10th St. Those who are interested in joining can attend. Call 502-585-2282 with questions.
Senate panel kills bill on prayers at state police events
Figures. We’re never allowed to publicly call on God in this country unless we’re in deep shit….
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Del. Bill Carrico’s bid to put an end to the Virginia State Police’s regulation of its chaplains’ prayers was shot down in a Senate committee Monday.
The Senate Courts of Justice Committee voted 8-7 to kill House Bill 2314, which would have prohibited state officials from instructing state police volunteer chaplains to avoid referring to religion — including the name of Jesus Christ — during prayers at department-sanctioned events.
Senators voting against the measure were wary of violating the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment against laws “respecting an establishment of religion,” but Carrico, R-Grayson County, said that by killing his bill they were still promoting a religion — “the ‘no-God’ religion.”
“I’ll be back,” Carrico said after the vote. “I’m not quitting. I’ve never quit on any issue. … This is bigger than me. The Christian faith has been persecuted in this country for too long, and I think [people] are getting tired of it.”
A reaction statement from the Family Foundation, a socially conservative advocacy group, was more strongly worded: “The birthplace of religious freedom is now the home of censorship and bigotry.”
The American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia, which had threatened to sue if the bill passed, used similar language in a statement that implied the death of the bill was a blow for “our most fundamental notions of religious freedom and equality.”
Carrico — a retired state trooper — had introduced the legislation in response to a controversy that erupted last year when state police Superintendent Steve Flaherty issued a directive instructing the department’s chaplains not to pray in the name of Jesus at department-sanctioned events such as the agency’s academy graduation ceremony and its annual memorial service.
Six troopers subsequently resigned from the chaplaincy program because of the directive, which was issued in response to a 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in a case involving prayer at Fredericksburg City Council meetings.
Carrico’s bill — which would have scrapped that policy — passed the House on a 66-30 vote but ran into trouble in the Senate committee, which had already killed a similar but broader bill earlier this month. That measure — Senate Bill 1072 — would have prohibited not just state police, but also any other government entity, from regulating the content of prayers at public meetings or events.
That bill, killed on a 9-6 vote, would have affected local deliberative bodies such as the Roanoke City Council, where controversy erupted in December, when Vice Mayor Sherman Lea, who is also a preacher, asked that his name be removed from a list of ministers used to offer invocations at council meetings. Lea’s request came after he received a complaint about an oblique reference to Jesus during the opening invocation of a council meeting.
Carrico’s bill was more narrowly drawn, but despite the reassurance from an attorney general’s representative that the bill could be successfully defended in court, it stirred many of the same concerns about violating the U.S. Constitution’s establishment clause.
Michael Shochet, chaplain for the Fairfax County Police Department and the Washington field office of the FBI who also serves as a cantor at Temple Rodef Shalom, said the bill went too far in allowing clergy to “push” their religion.
“When I don my police uniform, I am no longer representing my congregation as a Jewish clergy,” Shochet told the committee. “Instead, I am representing the government, and therefore the public is my congregation. The prayer is not about me: It is about helping all those needing to get through a time of distress.”
After hearing testimony from Shochet and others, Sen. Thomas Norment, R-Williamsburg, successfully proposed amendments that would have inserted the phrase “nonsectarian” through Carrico’s bill, which would have essentially enshrined Flaherty’s policy into state code. Carrico said he’d strike the bill if it passed as amended.
Instead, however, Sen. John Edwards, D-Roanoke, moved the bill be killed, with the ensuing vote falling on party lines.
Teen thanks hero cops
Major Robert Kuehl and Officer Gale Hall, Independence
An Independence teen is still recovering from a car wreck that nearly killed him, but on Tuesday he finally got the chance to say thank you to the heroes who saved his life.
“I don’t really remember much,” said Jacob Fischer, who suffered brain damage and broken bones in the wreck last November. Jacob crashed along Noland Road and spent more than a day trapped in the wreckage.
But one thing that Jacob does know is that he has two Kansas City, Missouri, Police Officers and his family to thank for being alive.
“Luckily they kept pushing and pushing and finally it worked,” said Jacob. “And they found the two greatest men to get me.”
“I’ve seen few cars in my tenure where anyone came out alive when they wrecked that badly,” said Major Robert Kuehl, who with Officer Gale Hall rescued Jacob from the wreckage. “And when I got down there and saw his hand moving and making noise, I can’t begin to describe it.”
On Tuesday, three months later, Jacob and fellow police officers are thanking Kuehl and Hall.
“That was the best,” said Jacob. “It was a great honor to be here and get to hug ‘em and hand their awards to them.”
Major Robert Kuehl, Independence
“It’s almost hard to put into words,” said Kuehl. “I’m just glad I didn’t break into tears up there. That’s the level of emotion I have seeing him.”
Hillsborough Sheriff’s Office Reaches Out To Migrant Workers
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office is reaching out to the area’s migrant population, hoping to help people feel comfortable reporting crimes to the authorities.
“We have a lot of migrant workers who collect their paychecks on a Friday and are immediately attacked and robbed,” said Deputy Efrain Taveras. “A lot of them are afraid to come forward because of their citizenship status and the fear of being deported, but that makes it more difficult for us to stop those crimes.”
To encourage more cooperation from the county’s migrant population, the sheriff’s office will host its third Migrant Outreach Project March 14 at the District 4 office in Ruskin.
Mark Haggett, principal of the Redlands Christian Migrant Association academy in Wimauma, agrees the reluctance of migrant workers to approach law enforcement is an issue.
“It’s absolutely a concern,” Haggett said. Many migrants, he said, think that “whenever the authorities are around, immigration people aren’t far behind.”
This is the third year for the outreach event. Similar programs were held in 2005 and 2006.
“We feel that we were able to break down some of the barriers and bridge some of the gaps between the sheriff’s office and the Hispanic community,” Maj. John Marsicano, commander of the District 4 office, said of the previous two outreach efforts.
The program was established in 2005 by Maj. Jerry York, former commander of the District 4 office.
“It’s a challenging event to put on, but it’s important for us to reach out to the community,” Taveras said.
He said the event drew about 1,500 people in 2006, but he expects a considerably higher number this time around.
“Before, the event was more targeted at people in south Hillsborough County, but this year, we’re really pushing to involve the entire county,” Taveras said. “I think it’s going to be double what we had last time.”
Participants will be given free bags of food, personal hygiene items and baby supplies- as long as supplies last. Visitors also can get free haircuts.
Several health and social service agencies will have tables set up to assist migrants with additional services.
There also will be free food donated by the Lakeland-based Cahill Ministries and music courtesy of Mariachi Juvenil, Mariachi International and other performers.
“We try to give back to the community every chance we get, and we feel like this program is a great way to get everyone involved and open communication both ways,” Taveras said.
IF YOU GO
• WHAT: The third Migrant Outreach Project
• WHERE: The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office District 4 office, 508 33rd St. S.E., Ruskin
• WHEN: 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. March 14
• COST: Free
• INFORMATION: Sgt. Susan Bradford or Deputy Efrain Taveras, (813) 247-0455
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