Cops taking to the roof in Georgia

Krispy Kreme’s seventh annual “Cops on Doughnut Shops” is set for the first weekend in May in Atlanta.

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc. will partner with Georgia police officers to raise money for the Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics Georgia. From 6 a.m. on May 1 to 6 p.m. on May 3, officers will collect donations from customers as they eat, sleep and play on the rooftops of 11 Georgia Krispy Kreme stores.

Atlanta’s 2008 Cops on Doughnut Shops event raised a record $90,000 for the Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics Georgia. The officers hope to raise $100,000 this year.

Here are the Georgia Krispy Kreme stores participating in Cops on Doughnut Shops 2009:

• Albany –400 N. Slappey Blvd.

• Athens — 3703 Atlanta Highway

• Atlanta — 295 Ponce de Leon Avenue

• Buford — 3387 Buford Drive

• Commerce — 40103 Highway 441 South

• Duluth — 1550 Pleasant Hill Road

• Lilburn — 4129 Highway 78

• Marietta — 299 Cobb Parkway

• Roswell — 791 Atlanta Street

• Savannah — 11506 Abercorn Street

• Savannah — 2749 Skidaway Road

Link

Memorial held for slain Texas state trooper

A memorial ceremony was held in Jefferson, Texas, today on the one-year anniversary of the slaying of state Trooper Scott Burns, who was shot during a traffic stop in Marion County

Burns’ widow, Michaela, was there along with the couple’s daughter, Micah, who was six months old when Burns was shot while he sat in his patrol car.

“The past year has been difficult,” Mrs. Burns said. “When I ask (my daughter) where daddy is, she’ll point to heaven.

“I was floored by the support from the community,” she added. “I just couldn’t ever thank everybody enough for what they’ve done.”

Law officers from across Texas rode their bicycles to Jefferson to place a wreath at the Burns memorial.

Among those present was Burns’ supervisor, Sgt. Josh Mason.

“The day he died he came into the office to see me for the last time. I remember I talked to him about 45 minutes,” Mason said. “It brings back a lot of hard memories, but a lot of precious ones, too.”

The man suspected of shooting burns, Brandon Robertson, killed himself as law officers moved in to arrest him two days after the shooting.

The woman who was with Robertson, Jennifer Petrick, is awaiting trial.

Link

Howard County adds first electric car to sheriff’s office

The new Howard County Sheriff’s Office “E-Car” is used to transport judges, victims, and witnesses in the parking area of the Howard County Courthouse in Ellicott City. The car has a top speed of 25 mph and can hold up to four people.

If you’re at the Howard County Circuit Court in Ellicott City and see a tiny, quiet vehicle cruising around, don’t be alarmed. It’s not a lost golfer.

Rather, it’s the first electric car deployed by a sheriff’s agency in the state of Maryland, according to Sgt. David Heck, a patrol sergeant with the Howard County Sheriff’s Office.

The electric car, which is black and white, egg-shaped and has flashing lights on top, is also known as the E-Car. It was purchased with a Homeland Security grant in 2008.

Sheriff’s deputies began using the car to patrol the courthouse buildings in January, Heck said. The car runs entirely on electricity and was part of an attempt by Sheriff James Fitzgerald to go “green,” Heck said.

But the primary reason for buying the vehicle was to enhance security around the courthouse, Heck said.

The car is used to transport witnesses, crime victims, prosecutors and judges from their cars in the parking lot to the courthouse door, if they feel threatened or under unwelcome scrutiny, Heck said.

“Individuals sometimes have to walk the gauntlet, sometimes due to unwanted media attention,” he said.

The vehicle, which is slightly larger than a golf cart, can carry four people. It cost $18,000, about $10,000 less than a regular patrol car, according to Deputy Mark Verderaime, a spokesman for the sheriff’s office.

The electric car has a top speed of 25 miles per hour and runs for eight hours before it needs to be recharged. It is recharged every night at a building near the courthouse, according to Heck.

It is part of a fleet of 25 patrol cars in the Sheriff’s Office, Verderaime said.

It sports Sheriff’s Office insignia and drives exactly like a normal, automatic car, Heck said. Although it can not be used in snowstorms and other severely inclement weather, it is good for getting into the nooks and crannies of roadways around the courthouse, Heck said.

“With the electric car you can get in and around areas where in a regular patrol car it would be difficult,” he said.

The car was recently used to transport prosecutors and a judge in the high-profile gangland slaying trial of Ronald McConnell, Heck said.

Verderaime said the car has lived up to expectations and the Sheriff’s Office may be looking to buy more in the future.

“Obviously, we’re very pleased how it’s worked out so far,” he said.

Link

K-9 Officer Survives Close Call With Suspect

Way to go, Turbo!!

——–

One of Jacksonville’s finest on four legs recently had a close call while on the job. Police said one of their K-9 officers was nearly drowned by a fleeing suspect when the dog chased the handcuffed man into a lake.

Turbo, a 7-year-old German Sheppard and member of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, has his own badge. Officers Chip Williams works with Turbo day and night and said the K-9 officer an asset to the force.

“The sense of smell is 10 times, 100 times, 1,000 times stronger than ours, so we utilize his senses to find people,” Williams said.

Those senses came in handy Sunday night, when officers spent six hours trying to capture Antwann Johnson. Police said Johnson managed to escape from a squad car after being arrested. They said the suspect jumped into a retention pond and kept officers at bay for hours.

Williams was a part of the team charged to search for Johnson. He said officers came close to catching Johnson once, but it wasn’t until a second time that Turbo caught the suspect’s scent.

“Turbo became very animated and let me know of the suspect’s presence. He continued to jump into the water,” Williams said.

The officer said Turbo then went after Johnson in the water, and that’s where the K-9 got into some trouble.

Williams said the suspect grabbed Turbo and tried submerge the dog under water to drown him.”At that point, I realized we had a serious situation,” Williams said.

Williams said Johnson grabbed both sides of Turbo’s neck and tried to drag him down, but the officer was holding onto the dog’s leash and wasn’t going to let go of Turbo.

“My main concern was getting Turbo up, out of the water, and getting the suspect at a disadvantage again and at least let Turbo have an opportunity to apprehend the suspect,” Williams said.

After a short struggle, Williams said members of the dive team eventually captured Johnson. He said the arrest was truly a team effort, and his dog Turbo played a big part.

“Me personally, I think he performed flawlessly,” Williams said.

Johnson was booked into the Duval County Jail Monday morning. He is facing charges including possession of heroin and cocaine, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and battery on a law enforcement officer. He was ordered held on $300,000 bond.

Link

Franklin Police add two dogs to force

Two new dogs are set to start sniffing out crime in Franklin (Tenn).

The police department recently held a graduation ceremony for officers Brad Dorman and Brett Spivy and their partners Nash and Axel.

Joining them in the completion of a 20-week training course was Williamson County Deputy Mike Grandy and his dog, Lexer.

The officers and their dogs were honored April 16.

Franklin’s new police dogs will join two other units, bringing the city’s number of police dogs to four.

The dogs are trained to find drugs, track suspects and defend their handlers when necessary.

“These officers should be commended for their dedication and hard work,” said Sgt. Aaron Compton, who oversees the program. “Being a K-9 officer is one of the most demanding assignments in the department, it’s also one of the most rewarding.”

Police Chief Jackie Moore said a strong dog program is a vital component to law enforcement’s success. He said the dogs help get “drugs and dangerous criminals” off the streets.

Sheriff Jeff Long said the addition of Lexer brings the total number of canines at the Williamson County Sheriff’s Department to three.

“Partnering and training with the other law enforcement agencies in Williamson County is a key component to keeping this community safe,” Long said.

“I particularly appreciate the opportunity we have had to work so closely with the Franklin Police Department in the training of deputy Grandy and Lexer.”
Link

Sebring PD K-9 fundraiser a success

The Sebring Police Department raised approximately $21,524 to go toward the purchase and training of a new K-9 unit.

That figure was more than $6,000 past the set fundraising goal of $15,000.

“Our community support was outstanding,” said Vicki Hicks, administrative assistant with the SPD.

Chief Tom Dettman gave a lot of credit for the fundraiser’s success to the 161 members of the AmVets Post 21, who organized January’s poker run and the 2nd annual Tom Berdelle Memorial Golf Scramble, held April 4 at the Municipal Golf Course.

“They’re the ones … that said, ‘We want to be the organization to make this happen for you guys,’” Dettman said, adding that the post has been recognized in their state newsletter for the achievement.

The golf scramble was named for Tom Berdelle, who was the former post commander who died two years ago.

In addition to the work of AmVets Post 21, more than 150 donations were made from members and organizations of the community.

The new K-9 unit the department is looking to get will have the ability to detect narcotics, track suspects, apprehend criminals and search buildings, according to Hicks.

Dettman said there is no date set for when they are going to purchase the dog.

This new dog will replace the department’s current K-9 unit, Fea, who was purchased by the SPD following a similar fundraiser held in 1999. That year, they raised over $14,000.

Hicks said the sweetest story through the whole fundraising initiative came when she did a tour with young students at the Liberty Christian Academy.

“At the end of the tour, they all pulled out change and gave us $1.50,” Hicks said.

No matter when the department gets the dog, the one thing that has already been taken care of is its name. Dettman said the K-9 will be called J.R., in honor of Sgt. James R. Moore, the only Sebring police officer killed in the line of duty.

Dettman said Moore’s brother made a donation for the new K-9 and asked if it would be possible for the dog to be called J.R.

“It will be our honor to do that,” Dettman said.

The chief added that, in tough economic times, the fact the department was able to duplicate the success of its 1999 fundraiser speaks to the “heart of Highlands County.”

“This demonstrates what the heart of Highlands County and the Sebring area is all about,” Dettman said. “It’s amazing.”

Link

CANIDAE All Natural Pet Foods Supports Police Canine Units and Avalanche Rescue Dog

Makes me want to switch to the Canidae line of dog food.

————–

CALIFORNIA AND ARIZONA POLICE CANINE UNITS – Robert Bemis, Regional Sales Manager for CANIDAE All Natural Pet Foods, was approached by the Pomona Police Department recently regarding the department’s Canine Unit. Earlier this year, the unit lost a Belgian Malinois patrol dog named Buddy to his battle with canine cancer. The department needed to replace Buddy with a new dog, but budget constraints and a lack of donations made it difficult.

CANIDAE has a long history of supporting both local and pet related causes including an ongoing series of fund raisers for the American Kennel Club Canine Health Foundation. “We were very saddened to hear of Buddy’s death from canine cancer. We’re very involved with raising funds to treat and prevent cancer in dogs so we are very sensitive to that issue. We wanted to help,” Bemis said.

“This not the first time we have worked with law enforcement,” Bemis continued. “I’m working to finalize a narcotics dog sponsorship for the Sumerton Arizona Police right now, and CANIDAE has been supporting law enforcement agencies across the country by providing food for their canine units for years.”

CANIDAE officially donated the Belgian Malinois, named Baco, to the Pomona Police Department’s Canine Unit this past March. The newest member of the Police Department’s canine unit, he is in his fourth week of training and getting ready to begin patrol duties with his handler. The 3 1/2 year old Belgian Malinois has shown he’s energetic, alert, brave and sociable with his handler, Officer Theo Joseph.

“Buddy’s death caught everyone by surprise,” said Sgt. Mike Ellis, who oversees the Police Department’s canine program. “Because the dog’s death came suddenly, no one was able to plan for a replacement,” Ellis said.

The donation from CANIDAE came at a critical time for the department, but now the Canine Unit must prepare for the retirement of another dog, Rocky, who will retire in about three months after 11 years of service.

People interested in contributing toward the purchase of Rocky’s replacement can attend the Eagles’ taco nights, which begin at 6 p.m. Mondays at the Eagles Lodge, 954 W. Mission Blvd., Pomona.

Checks can also be made out to the “Eagles K-9 Fund” and mailed in care of Sgt. Mike Ellis to the Pomona Police Department, 490 W. Mission Blvd., Pomona, CA 91766. Donations will be forwarded to the Eagles.

COPPER MOUNTAIN SKI PATROL – “Last week I had the opportunity to watch Cascade, a CANIDAE All Natural Pet Foods sponsored back country avalanche search dog at work. Cascade is a 3-year old Golden Retriever that is handled by Chris and Hanna Sutton of Copper Mountain Ski Patrol in the beautiful Colorado Rockies,” said Chris Milliken, Regional Sales Manager for CANIDAE.

Copper Mountain Ski Patrol in Colorado is one of the larger patrol teams in the county. The staff consists of 60 full-time patrollers, 100 volunteers who work as Slope Watch (the folks who tell you to slow down on groomers and other high-traffic runs), 20 medical volunteer professionals (doctors and nurses who donate their time on the mountain to increase Copper’s medical response force), and 15 high school students who assist in most patrol operations.

The avalanche dogs Cascade, Tucker, Tracker, Eddy, and Bridger round out the team.

Chris Milliken recently had the opportunity to watch Cascade participate in a training exercise. “It was great to see Cascade proudly sporting the CANIDAE Pet Foods patches on his vest. Cascade is a true testament to the results of feeding CANIDAE, from his great looking coat to his ability consistently perform in these high-pressure situations,” Milliken said.

About CANIDAE All Natural Pet Foods
Founded out of love for pets and animals, CANIDAE Pet Food, Inc. manufactures and distributes a complete line of healthy meat based, holistic all natural dog food, cat food, and gourmet pet treats sold world wide through independent pet food retailers including over 6000 locations throughout the United States and Canada. For more information visit http://www.canidae.com/.

Link

Detroit Police corps to honor fallen officers Friday

The Detroit Police Department’s Chaplain Corps will host its 36th Annual Interfaith Memorial Service at 9 a.m. Friday at St. Mary’s Church, 646 Monroe.

A procession is scheduled to begin 8 a.m. at Campus Martius and proceed east on Monroe to the church in Greektown.

A complimentary breakfast will be served after the service at the International Banquet and Conference Center, 400 Monroe.

The service commemorates police officers who died while serving as well as former DPD members.

Link

LOL!

Villagers say a scarecrow dressed as a traffic policemen has put the brake on speeding drivers.

The man of straw, complete with police uniform and a “speed gun” made out of a plastic bottle, has gone up on the B6318 in the village of Crosby-on-Eden in Cumbria.

Stuffed with hay and straw, the scarecrow looks like a genuine police officer from a distance and has had drivers “crawling” through the village after they spot him from afar.

Link

Hammonton won’t let police give sick time to fellow officer

Real nice move, City Council.  What was stopping them from passing an ordinance that would require them voting on each circumstance individually if they were worried about abuses, instead of giving blanket approval to all of them? Doesn’t seem fair. If the officers want to do this, they should be allowed to do it.

—————————

Town Council has denied a request by police officers to donate some of their accumulated sick time to a fellow officer with cancer.

Patrolman Peter Hagerty was diagnosed with stage-two testicular cancer in the beginning of March.

The 36-year-old officer will be out of work for at least three months to recover from surgery, but Hagerty does not have enough sick and vacation days to cover that absence.

Hagerty used most of the time he had accumulated in his four years with the force to be with his wife, Eryn, and newborn son, Cole, after Cole was born three months premature 15 months ago.

Cole is fine now, his father said, but the family is faced with the likelihood of losing the bulk of Hagerty’s paycheck in the face of skyrocketing medical bills.

“The max I can get on disability will be almost $1,700 less a paycheck,” Hagerty said. “You can do the math. There’s not much more about it to say than that.”

Chief Frank Ingemi, with members of several area police departments in attendance Monday, asked Town Council to repeal an ordinance that prevents employees from being able to transfer their unused sick and vacation time to a colleague.

The town previously allowed such practices, but Mayor John DiDonato said it was banned after the process was abused multiple times.

Ingemi acknowledged the prior abuses but said the ordinance could be fine-tuned so the sick days could only be used to benefit an employee with a “catastrophic” health condition.

“These employees feel that they have earned this time and want to donate to help a fellow employee in a time of hardship,” Ingemi said.

“These are people who depend on each other every day. … I beg you (to allow them to do this).”

The Town Council did not.

Councilman James Bertino made a motion to approve an ordinance to grant employees permission to transfer up to 10 sick days to a colleague with a catastrophic health condition. But the motion was not seconded.

“The road to hell is paved with good intentions,” explained DiDonato, adding that passing such an ordinance would make way for the resurfacing of the kinds of abuses, peer pressure, intimidation and financial issues that caused the practice to be banned in the first place.

The council did vote to support fundraising efforts for Hagerty to help cover the drop in his income while on disability. DiDonato offered to work with Ingemi to coordinate fundraising efforts.

Ingemi said there would be a lot of people unhappy with the council’s decision, but he said the department will turn its focus to fundraising.

“I know that the decision to do this was tough, due to the past abuses. But I really think they should’ve made an effort to do something different,” Ingemi said. “I will personally make sure (Hagerty) and his family do not experience any shortfalls while he is out.”

Following the council’s decision, Hagerty could be seen pacing in Town Hall’s lobby with his eyes toward the floor.

He said he was not angry with the outcome.

“Being angry doesn’t get you anywhere. I’m disappointed,” he said. “They have this kind of thing on the county level and at other departments. I’m disappointed we couldn’t do it here.”

Hagerty reserved his most emotional comments for his fellow officers.

“It was a good turnout tonight,” he said. “I appreciate them being here and what they were offering to do.”

Link