County recognizes women deputies

Toting guns in their purses, wearing skirts and heels, the first female deputies started patrol work at the Sheriff’s Department in 1972.

On Monday, deputies lined up at Altadena Community Center to salute the trio of women who broke the gender barrier at the sheriff’s Altadena Station: Judy Preimsberger, Judy Evans and the late Charlene “Charlie” Rottler.

“The women on patrol were told to carry their guns in their purses and wear high heels,” recalled Carol Freeman, a retired Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy who was one of 12 women who became patrol deputies that year.

Read more: County recognizes women deputies – Whittier Daily News http://www.whittierdailynews.com/news/ci_14782377#ixzz0jhcEXHzJ

Williamston policeman named South Carolina’s top officer

David Fazzone of the Williamston Police Department was honored as South Carolina’s Officer of the Year, for a small police department, for his efforts in combating drunken driving.

The South Carolina Department of Public Safety recognized numerous law enforcement officers and agencies for their efforts to rid South Carolina roadways of drunken drivers, said Sid Gualden, a spokesman for the state’s public safety department.

READ ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE

Cook County unveils tribute to fallen officers

“Today, we honor our fallen.”

With those words, Cook County sheriff’s police investigator Jeff Lange commenced Monday’s memorial dedication ceremony honoring eight Cook County sheriff’s police officers who demonstrated that public service does not come without sacrifice.

Officers Sam F. Kaiser, Frederick C. Bryant, Meyer Joseph (Jack) LaPine, Robert (Ruby) Schanbaum, Frank J. Christian, John A. Rusnak, James F. Knapp and Michael W. Ridges, who was shot and killed during a 1985 traffic stop in Prospect Heights, made the ultimate sacrifice.

Cook County Sheriff Thomas J. Dart, Chief of Police DeWayne Holbrook and law enforcement officers from around the state gathered at River Grove’s Triton College to honor their colleagues slain in the line of duty.

READ ENTIRE ARTICLE/VIDEO HERE

Portsmouth officer and K9 Titan pass test of social skills with flying colors

Portsmouth Police K-9 handler Eric Kinsman with Titan.

Officer Eric Kinsman and K9 Titan recently passed a “Good Citizen Test” with flying colors.

Kinsman and his canine partner participated in the voluntarily test held recently by the American Kennel Association at the Village Center in Contoocook.

The purpose of the exercise is to test a dog’s level of training and abilities in 10 areas to include friendliness toward strangers, politeness, behavior in a crowd, their reaction to other dogs and other distractions.

READ ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE

Dover Police Department earns reaccreditation

The Police Department is now in elite company.

The department received its seventh award for reaccreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies on Saturday.

This makes the department one of only 32 law enforcement agencies in the nation to achieve the award seven times.

In addition to being reaccredited, the department was also designated as a CALEA “Flagship Agency.”

Being a flagship agency means the department can be called upon by other agencies seeking advice about the accreditation process, according to Police Chief Anthony Colarusso.

“Basically you’re a role model and resource for other law enforcement agencies,” he said.

An assessment team from CALEA did an on-site evaluation of the department in December. The assessment was part of a regular review program intended to verify the department continues to meet professional law enforcement standards.

READ ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE

Polk County Sheriff’s Office seeks good Samaritan following shooting

A man was shot at a bus stop Sunday morning after two people in a car approached him and demanded money at gunpoint, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office reported.

The shooting happened between 8 and 9 a.m.

According to a Sheriff’s Office report, a man was standing at a Lynx bus stop near the 9600 block of U.S. Highway 192, north of Davenport, when he was approached by two males in a silver Pontiac Grand Am.

The passenger in the Pontiac leaned out of the car and, pointing a gun handgun at the man at the bus stop, demanded money from him.

When the victim attempted to flee, the passenger in the Pontiac fired the gun, striking the victim in the lower back, according to the report.

The two suspects in the car then drove off.

READ ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE

For airport K9 dogs & handlers, trust & teamwork keep them on scent of air safety

“You spend your career looking for something you don’t want to find.”

SPOKEN BY A TRAINER, those words are burned into the brain of Officer James Cassidy, a four-year member of the elite Philadelphia Police Airport Explosives Detection K9 Unit. The cops have a single goal – to protect travelers by detecting explosives.

Each cop’s partner is a highly trained dog that gets the last word whenever explosives are suspected. Cops are taught: “Trust your dog.”

“If he says no, it’s no,” says Officer Terry Wright, 41.

The way an airport K9 dog says “no” is to sniff something and move along. An airport K9 dog says “yes” by sniffing, then quickly sitting down.

In a real-life situation, when a dog sits it means trouble. The area – whether baggage, concourse or terminal – will be cleared and locked down in minutes just because the dog said so.

That’s never happened at Philadelphia International in real life, although K9s sit every single day in training sessions. Dogs detect explosive odors planted for them to find.

READ ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE

Officers stop the speeding cars right outside their windows

It seems the most unlikely place to speed, but from their office windows, Vail Police officers like Sgt. Samantha Graves have a bird’s eye view of all the people speeding right past the Vail Police station.

“Not a smart place to do it,” Graves said.

Mix that with recent complaints about speeders and drivers not stopping for people at crosswalks along the frontage road outside, and police had to act.

First, they placed a patrol car and speed signs on the road.

“We stepped up out visibility in the area,” Graves said.

When that stopped working, Vail Police started enforcing right outside their station.

In just two hours, officers pulled over more than 40 cars.

READ ENTIRE ARTICLE/VIDEO HERE

Alaska Troopers Grab Suicidal Man on bridge & Hold On For 1/2 Hour

Anchorage Daily News

Alaska State Troopers say they held onto a suicidal man through a chain link fence for half an hour to keep him from plunging into the Chena River.

Several people called 911 Friday night to say the man was hanging from the fence where the Mitchell Expressway passes over the river. Sgt. Chad Goeden was the first to arrive on scene, and reached his fingers through the fence to grab the man’s fleece jacket.

The man began kicking and fighting, and Goeden held on as three other troopers, two Fairbanks police officers and other responders arrived to join in the rescue effort.

At one point, rescuers managed to loop a rope through the chain link fence and around the man as he continued to fight to get free. They eventually used bolt cutters to cut a hole in the fence and pull the man to safety.

He was taken to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital for treatment.

Border Patrol Arrest Turns to Rescue

A potentially deadly situation was averted after Border Patrol agents helped rescue ten migrants.

Agents say a smuggler put the migrants in a perilous situation.

The Border Patrol responded to the Hill Streete storm drain tunnel where the ten were trying to make an illegal entry into the United States.

READ ENTIRE ARTICLE/PICTURE HERE