Officers hailed for besting the call of duty
A man allegedly armed with a gun and a deep-seated racial vendetta was barreling down busy streets in Brockton in a van in January 2009.
According to police reports at the time, Keith Luke had earlier raped and shot two Cape Verdean sisters, killing the younger one, and then gunned down a homeless man. Police were scrambling to apprehend him.
Brockton police Officer William Devine was in his cruiser and tried to stop traffic as Luke raced through, allegedly firing at the officer. As Luke speeded on, Officer James Cronshaw, who was on foot, also tried to stop traffic before exchanging gunfire with him, according to the state Executive Office of Public Safety and Security.
Moments later, Luke crashed and was arrested. He is now awaiting trial on charges that include first-degree murder.
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K-9 Zira Joins New Canaan Force
Even without a gun, the New Canaan Police Department’s newest member will be pretty intimidating.
The NCPD introduced Zira, a 3 ½ year old German Shepherd, as its latest “hire.” She’ll team with Officer Mike McFadden to chase down the bad guys and keep the streets safe.
Zira, the department’s second K-9 recruit, comes to New Canaan from the Czech Republic. She’s the fourth female dog on the job statewide with a local police force. The others work in Monroe, West Hartford and Westport.
McFadden said Zira is focused on police work and not easily distracted like some male dogs he’s seen. “She’s not sedentary like house dogs,” he said. “She wants to get out and do things.”
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Idaho State Police Sgt. Gary Brush retires after 26 years
Sgt. Gary Brush drove off into the sunset Friday, but in his personal vehicle, rather than an Idaho State Police squad car.
Brush, retiring after 26 years, was honored by numerous family members, friends and representatives of various law enforcement agencies at a ceremony at ISP regional headquarters.
Capt. Kedrick Wills presented Brush with a commendation signed by Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter and then read from a statement by ISP Col. Jerry Russell.
“Your contributions to Idaho State Police and your public service to Idaho citizens during the last 26 years are truly commendable,” Russell wrote. “Please accept my personal gratitude for your devoted service and my best wishes for an enjoyable retirement.”
Like many such retirement celebrations, the thanks for service and the good wishes for future endeavors were supplemented with stories told at Brush’s expense.
Wills recounted his first introduction to Brush.
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The Bold Bill
Just yesterday, an officer in Newcastle was seriously injured by a crazed gunman. He was on the run after shooting and wounding his ex and killing her new partner.
The 15th Police Federation Bravery Awards, backed by The Sun, will be held on Thursday.
Prime Minister David Cameron will welcome 58 nominees to No10 before a dazzling awards ceremony at the Dorchester Hotel in London. There will be eight regional prizes and one overall winner.
Here MARTIN PHILLIPS looks at just some of the nominees’ inspiring tales.
Could this be the next WPD K-9 unit?
If all goes according to plan, Myka will be a member of the Williston Police Department next year.
Myka, a 6-month-old German Shepherd, is intended to be trained as the Williston PD’s first K-9 dog since the 1980s.
Officer Dustin Bertsch, who is spearheading the effort to have Myka trained, said having a K-9 unit would be an important addition to the department. He said with the increasing population due to the current oil boom there is a need for improvements to better conduct law enforcement.
“Every tool we can use and utilize would do that,” said Bertsch.
GETTING A NEW K-9 The police department did not have a K-9 unit in its budget.
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How 2 St. Paul cops helped crack alleged sex-trafficking ring
Heather Weyker is a St. Paul police officer who investigates human trafficking, but she’s also a mom.
“The girls that are 10 and 9 that have their moms pimp them out, or the teenagers — you just want to give them a big hug and take them home with you,” Weyker said.
When federal indictments were unsealed last week charging 29 people in an underage-sex-trafficking case that stretched from the Twin Cities to Nashville, Tenn., Weyker was not at the news conferences. But behind the scenes, she and another St. Paul police officer were essential to the case.
Weyker started the investigation and was the lead investigator, said Sgt. John Bandemer, who is the lead sergeant for the department’s vice unit and heads the Gerald D. Vick Human Trafficking Task Force. Bandemer supervised Weyker and worked with her on the investigation, particularly in the past year.
They’ve spent thousands of hours on the case. Weyker has traveled to Nashville more than 20 times in the past year or so, and Bandemer has gone about a dozen times.
Weyker and Bandemer said the time away from their families was difficult but worth it.
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Project Blue Light: Let your blue lights shine for law enforcement during the holidays
For the past 22 years, Concerns of Police Survivors has asked law enforcement families, surviving families, and police supporters to put a blue light in their windows during the holiday season. The blue light is symbolic of our remembrance of those officers who have made the supreme sacrifice and honors those officers who continue to work the violent streets of our nation.
The idea began in 1988 when Mrs. Dolly Craig wrote to C.O.P.S. that she would be putting two blue candles in her living room window that holiday season. One for her son-in-law, Daniel Gleason, who had been killed in the line of duty while serving the Philadelphia (PA) Police Department on June 5, 1986, and one for her daughter and Danny’s wife, Pam, who had been killed in an automobile accident in August 1988. Danny and Pam had 6 children. Dolly Craig is now deceased as well, but the idea is her legacy. Project Blue Light now burns bright in the hearts of the nearly 15,000 surviving families of America’s fallen law enforcement officers during the holiday season.
“Everyone who appreciates law enforcement should get involved with Project Blue Light,” said Linda Gregory, C.O.P.S. National President, “Project Blue Light allows citizens to show support for local law enforcement and the heroes who have been killed in the line of duty.”
Project Blue Light is a simple gesture; during the holidays decorate with blue lights or simply insert a single blue bulb in the candle stick replicas that adorn many windows in homes or businesses. C.O.P.S. also encourages law enforcement agencies to decorate the precinct stations and headquarters in blue lights.
The color blue is symbolic of peace. By displaying blue lights in your holiday decorations, you will be sending a dual message – that you support America’s peacekeepers and that you hope the coming year will be a year of peace.
Visit C.O.P.S. website www.nationalcops.org to order a new LED blue light developed especially for Concerns of Police Survivors by Streamlight®.
Police Chief Duncan proud to ‘live up to the shield’
It’s been 23 years since Barbara Duncan patrolled the streets of Ocean City as a seasonal officer. Now, after a long career with the Mount Vernon Police Department in New York, she’s back.
The new Salisbury police chief will take the reigns Monday and, while she and her husband, Richard, are “slowly unpacking the boxes –and there are a lot of boxes,” Duncan said she’s settling in nicely in a city she’s happy to call home.
“This is the general region I grew up in and I’m very happy for the opportunity to raise my family here,” she said.
Originally from Dover, the 44-year-old mother of six still has family in the area and remembers spending her summers at the beach.
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Dog Stuck On Cliff Rescued By Sheriff’s Deputy
A springer spaniel stuck overnight on a cliff ledge in Lake Pueblo State Park is OK after a sheriff’s deputy rappelled down a canyon to retrieve him. The dog named “Doc” went over an 80-foot cliff Thursday morning while training to become a hunting dog.
The Pueblo Chieftain reports the spaniel became trapped after sliding down a shale canyon side. The pup landed on a ledge about 80 feet down a 200-foot ravine.
Master Deputy Dylan Jacketta says it was too dark Thursday to attempt a rescue, so rescuers passed blankets down to the ledge. On Friday morning, Jacketta rappelled down the canyon and rescued Doc.
LINK/PICS
Attleboro Police Dog Gets a New Vest
Attleboro Police K-9 Maddie will now be protected with a new bullet-proof vest thanks to the generosity of Attleboro resident Bobby Earls.
Earls, a former K-9 handler for Conrail, donated the vest to Maddie in memory of Scott Andrews, a Fall River resident who was killed in action in Afghanistan.
Earls worked with Andrews’ father Alfred Andrews and remembers the senior Andrews always talking about his children.
“When Bobby heard about Scott being killed in action it hit him hard,” said Kathy Hinds, of Massachusetts Vest-a-Dog, a group in Walpole that provides dogs in law enforcement with bullet-proof vests.
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