Who's Under the Gun?
The ATF, That's Whom
(#463, 3/6/25)

Going after gun controllers,
for the usual reasons

Who's Under the Gun?
The FBI, That's Whom
(#462, 2/14/25)

Going after the FBI
for going after
the Capitol rioters

Point of View
(#461, 1/30/25)

Do scholars really “get”
the craft of policing?

All in the Family
(Part II)
(#460, 1/6/25)

A decade after Part I,
domestic killings
remain commomplace

Acting...or Re-acting?
(#459, 12/8/24)

An urgent response
proves tragically imprecise

Citizen Misbehavior
Breeds Voter
Discontent
(#458, 11/20/24)

Progressive agendas
face rebuke in even
the "Bluest" of places

A Matter of Facts
(#457, 11/3/24)

Did flawed science place
an innocent man
on death row?

Want Brotherly Love?
Don't be Poor!
(#456, 10/12/24)

Violence is down in Philly,
L.A. and D.C.
Have their poor noticed?

Prevention Through Preemption
(#455, 9/16/24)

Expanding the scope of
policing beyond
making arrests

Switching Sides
(#454, 8/30/24)

St. Louis’ D.A. argues that
a condemned man
is in fact innocent

"Distraction Strike"?
Angry Punch? Both?
(#453, 8/11/24)

When cops get rattled,
the distinction may
ring hollow

Bringing a Gun
To a Knife Fight
(#452, 7/30/24)

Cops carry guns.
Some citizens flaunt knives.
Are poor outcomes inevitable?

"Numbers" Rule –
Everywhere
(#451, 7/2/24)

Production pressures
degrade what's "produced" –
and not just in policing

Is Crime Really Down?
It Depends...
(#450, 6/20/24)

Even when citywide
numbers improve, place
really, really matters

Kids With Guns
(#449, 6/3/24)

Ready access
and permissive laws
create a daunting problem

De-Prosecution?
What's That?
(#448, 4/27/24)

Philadelphia's D.A.
eased up on lawbreakers.
Did it increase crime?

Ideology (Still)
Trumps Reason
(#447, 4/9/24)

When it comes to gun laws,
“Red” and “Blue” remain
in the driver’s seat

Shutting the Barn Door
(#446, 3/19/24)

Oregon moves to
re-criminalize hard drugs

Houston, We Have
(Another) Problem
(#445, 2/28/24)

Fueled by assault rifles, murders plague the land

Wrong Place, Wrong
Time, Wrong Cop
(#444, 2/8/24)

Recent exonerees set "records"
for wrongful imprisonment

America's Violence-
Beset Capital City
(#443, 1/20/24)

Our Nation's capital
is plagued by murder

Are Civilians Too Easy
on the Police? (II)
(#442, 12/18/23)

Exonerated of murder,
but not yet done

Warning: (Frail)
Humans at Work
(#441, 11/29/23)

The presence of a gun
can prove lethal

See No Evil - Hear No
Evil - Speak No Evil
(#440, 11/14/23)

Is the violent crime problem
really all in our heads?

Policing Can't Fix
What Really Ails
(#439, 10/18/23)

California's posturing
overlooks a chronic issue

Confirmation Bias
Can be Lethal
(#438, 9/21/23)

Why did a "routine" stop
cost a man's life?

When (Very) Hard
Heads Collide (II)
(#437, 9/5/23)

What should cops do when
miscreants refuse to comply?
Refuse to comply?

Keep going...

3/11/25 Dismayed by the racist and sexist chatter of his colleagues in the recruitment unit, an LAPD officer secretly recorded hours of it on tape. Then filed a complaint with superiors. These recordings captured slurs directed at virtually every gender and ethnicity, made by officers of virtually every gender and ethnicity. And while the abysmal jabber has spurred the reassignment of the unit’s boss and several subordinates, the complainant is also under investigation, for violating his coworkers’ privacy. Related post

Shortly after leaving the Chicago courthouse where he was pending trial on gun charges, Eric Vaughn, 28, was ambushed and slain. His alleged killer, Marquez Robinson, 25, is on Federal parole for a drug conviction. However, his parole has been in question because of a recent arrest for burglary. And while he’s yet to be charged with murder, Robinson is back in Federal custody facing ex-con with a gun charges in connection with Vaughn’s killing. Related posts 1   2

3/10/25 On Friday evening, March 9, Newark PD Detective Joseph Azcona, 26, was shot and killed and his partner was wounded by a 14-year old boy who was wielding “an automatic weapon.” The officers were part of a joint local-Federal team that drove up to a group of youths who reportedly had illegal firearms. Return fire wounded the shooter. He was arrested and charged with murder and gun violations, and five companions were detained. Related posts 1   2

In February a distraught Los Angeles woman called 911 and said that she was being held in a motel room and forced to perform sex work. Multiple LAPD officers arrived and interacted with Linda Moran, 30. She claimed to have been beaten; they examined her but found no sign of injuries. Moran soon became angry and ordered the officers to leave. They backed away and clustered at the door. Moran then slowly advanced on them with a large knife in hand. An officer opened fire, inflicting an ultimately fatal wound. LAPD released graphic, highly detailed clips from the officer bodycams. Video   Related post

In Police Chief magazine, two German academics propose the KODIAK model of de-escalating officer-citizen encounters. It’s comprised of five sequential stages - Safety, Relationship, Calmness, Situation Clarification, and Solution Search - and the essentials of each should be largely accomplished before advancing to the next. Assuring the safety of officers and citizens is critical throughout. That may require the use of force. But its application should be proportional. Patience is important, and if necessary a temporary withdrawal can be considered. Related post

In January 2024 three academicians administered a survey to a representative sample of 10,000 U.S. adults. Seven percent of respondents reported having been present at the scene of a mass shooting, defined as four or more persons being shot. Two percent said they sustained an injury, by gunfire or other means. Mass shootings were most common in neighborhoods, and those present were more often younger, male and Black. No racial differences were found as to the injuries sustained. Related post

In 1995 a Virginia woman was viciously stabbed to death in her home. Her assailant’s identity remained a mystery until 2023, when a private lab used DNA to build the killer’s family tree. And shortly after police paid him a visit to ask for a cheek swab, software engineer Stephan Smerk, 53, soulfully confessed. A recovered alcoholic, he had became well educated, married, had children, and enjoyed a seemingly ideal life. Smerk recently pled guilty and just drew seventy years. As for his motive: he had none. Smerk said that he had felt compelled to kill, and was “a serial killer who’s only killed once.” Related post

“For the past four years, our brave men and women of ICE were barred from doing their jobs—ICE needs a culture of accountability that it has been starved of under the Biden Administration.”  DHS Secretary Kristi Noem thus announced the appointment of veteran ICE agent and manager Todd Lyons as Acting ICE Director, and Madison Sheahan, head of the Louisiana Dept. of Wildlife (and a reportedly strong backer of law enforcement) as Deputy Director. Lyons replaces Caleb Vitello, who held the position for only one month. “Lagging immigrant arrest numbers” apparently did him in. Immigration updates   Related post

Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil, a leading pro-Palestinian voice, once drew the school’s sharp rebuke for leading an unauthorized march that “glorified” Hamas’ incursion into Israel. And Khalil, who holds a student visa and a green card, is now in ICE custody and pending an appearance at an immigration court. If a judge rules that Khalil actively supported Hamas, which was designated a terror group in 1997, his green card could be revoked and he would be deported. Immigration updates   Related post

3/7/25 In Glendale, AZ, patrol officers need not wait for dispatch to send them on a call. New technology allows them to set their patrol car’s GPS so they can listen in, live, to all 911 calls that originate within one-half to three miles away. That enables catching evildoers literally “in the act.” In one example, a nearby cop’s near- instant response to a 911 call about a man trying to burglarize vehicles led to his arrest well before the officers actually dispatched on the call arrived. Related post

In 2018, a California Appellate decision required that San Francisco judges set bail based on the accused’s ability to pay. A 2021 California Supreme Court decision later extended this rule to the whole State. Just published in Criminology & Public Policy, a study of the rule’s effects found that defendants who benefited from these decisions and gained pre-trial release became less likely to plead guilty and suffer a conviction. But the liberalization did not significantly affect the likelihood that they would be arrested or convicted in the future. Related post

Adnan Syed’s infamous conviction for the 1999 murder of his high school girlfriend - it became a hit in the “Serial” podcast - was overturned by a lower court in 2022. He was released after serving 22 years. But one year later an appellate court reversed the reversal, again making him a murderer, and the Maryland Supreme Court affirmed that decision. But instead of another trial, a judge just applied a special provision of State law and reduced Syed’s sentence to time served. He remains a convicted killer and will be on five years probation. And, yes, Syed continues to maintain his innocence. Related post

3/6/25 Typically crime-beset Minneapolis (of George Floyd infamy) is bragging about its drop in serious and violent crimes, including robberies, carjackings and aggravated assaults. According to the mayor and police chief, the improvement is due to “police initiatives, task forces and programs focused on these specific crimes.” Summing up robberies, agg. assaults and murders during the first two months of the year, our quick tally from the city data portal showed 502 in 2023, 610 in 2024 and 450 this year. Related post

A recent journal article in Preventive Medicine, “Perceptions of neighborhood disorder and gun carrying during adolescence: The indirect effect of exposure to violence,” examines the reasons why adolescents bring guns to school. It concludes that while neighborhood disorder is an important factor, the exposure of violence is the most proximate cause. According to the authors, providing “mental health resources” would benefit youths who live in disorderly, violence-stricken neighborhoods. Related post

Two illegal immigrants from Guatemala are under arrest for running a criminal group that smuggled twenty-thousand persons from Guatemala to the U.S. over five years. They charged $15,000 to $18,000 dollars per person, and those who couldn’t pay up got “held hostage in a stash house” in the Los Angeles area until they did. In 2023 one of their immigrant convoys crashed in Oklahoma, killing seven immigrants. Eduardo Domingo Renoj-Matul and Cristobal Mejia-Chaj are being held without bond. They face up to life in prison. Immigration updates

3/5/25 Darrell Moore was sixteen when he participated in a 2020 murder that an accomplice committed during a group robbery. Moore didn’t have a gun then but aggressively wielded a knife. He drew 66 years but thanks to D.C.’s 2016 Incarceration Reduction Amendment Act only served twenty-six. And he’s again been convicted of murder, for a killing he committed with a gun six months after his release. Related posts 1   2

Vowing to “make D.C. safe again,” Ed Martin, President Trump’s interim U.S. Attorney, announced he would prosecute gun-toting felons in U.S. District Court on Federal charges instead of letting them be dealt with in Superior Court. A dozen extra ATF agents are enroute to help out. His strategy is a re-do of the approach taken during President Trump’s first term. USA Martin castigated the Capitol riot cases as distractions from the fight against violence and recently demoted seven lawyers who worked on those cases. But two, according to the Post, also specialized in gun cases. Related posts 1   2

3/4/25 Calling it “unjust” and disproportionate, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin commuted the three-year prison term just handed down to former Fairfax County (Va.) police sergeant Wesley Shifflett for shooting and killing Timothy McCree Johnson in 2023. Shifflet will, however, remain convicted of felony reckless handling of a firearm. Johnson’s mother disparaged the commutation as “validating” the killing. Related post

Robert E. Crimo III pled guilty to committing the massacre at the July 4th., 2022 parade in Highland Park, Illinois, where he used an assault rifle to murder seven spectators and wound over two dozen. He will draw multiple consecutive life terms; it seems certain that he will never be released. Related post

In a message he just delivered to coworkers, James Dennehy, the head of the FBI’s New York City office, said that he had been ordered to retire but not told why. So he would. “I will never stop defending this joint. I’ll just do it willingly and proudly from outside the wire.” Dennehy, an agent since 2002, had openly “resisted” the directive to identify agents who participated in the Capitol investigation. He had then written colleagues that he would “dig in. Capitol updates   Related post

3/3/25 Mexico transferred twenty-nine wanted members of drug trafficking cartels to U.S. cutody. They’re charged with participating in vast criminal enterprises that trafficked large amounts of drugs into the U.S. and committed numerous murders and kidnappings to accomplish their ends. Among the accused are Rafael Caro Quintero, who allegedly murdered DEA agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena forty years ago while he was stationed in Guadalajara. Among the others are Vicente Fuentes, 62, a leader of the Juarez Cartel, and Miguel Angel and Oscar Morales, two reputed Zetas. All drug cartels have been officially declared “terrorist organizations” by the new Administration. DOJ news release   Related post

According to persons “close to the office,” seven seasoned D.C. prosecutors with “senior roles” in the office have been involuntarily reassigned to perform duties handled by newcomers. They were reportedly demoted because of concerns about their loyalty. Each had played a significant role in prosecuting an associate of President Trump (i.e., Stephen K. Bannon and Peter Navarro) or a leading figure in the Capitol riot (i.e. Oath Keeper Stewart Rhodes and Proud Boy Enrique Tarrio.) Capitol updates   Related post

“For years” the IRS has encouraged illegal immigrants to file tax returns and assured them that their information would be kept confidential. According to a document reviewed by the Washington Post, DHS recently asked the IRS to supply residence addresses for 700,000 illegal immigrants who are being targeted for expulsion. Citing privacy rules, the IRS turned them down. For the same reason it’s also turned down a request to help probe businesses across the U.S. that knowingly hire illegal immigrants. Immigration updates   Related post

To combat illegal immigration 3,000 active-duty troops are being sent to the Southern border. They will join the 4,200 active -duty soldiers and 5,000 State-dispatched National Guard troops already there. But the New Administration’s vigorous response to illegal immigration is drawing pushback. “Operation Return to Sender, ” a Border Patrol initiative that targets farm workers illegally in the U.S., is being sued by the United Farm Workers for sending agents on “fishing expeditions” that dispense with legal niceties such as “reasonable suspicion” and selects targets based on their race and occupation. Immigration updates   Related post

Two years ago former Fairfax County (Va.) police sergeant Wesley Shifflett shot and killed a shoplifter who “reached for his waist” during a foot chase. Timothy McCree Johnson, 37, turned out to be unarmed. At trial, then-Sgt. Shifflett was acquitted of manslaughter but convicted of felony reckless handling of a firearm. He was just sentenced to three years imprisonment. Bodycam video   Related post

2/28/25 DOJ filed lawsuits during the previous Administration accusing four agencies, including the Maryland State Police, of discriminatory hiring because they selected proportionately fewer female and Black applicants. But the new Administration contends that police and fire departments had become targets of a “DEI Agenda” for using “standard aptitude tests” to screen candidates for critical public-safety provisions. So the lawsuits have been dropped. DOJ Press Release   Related post

Harlow v. Fitzgerald established the doctrine of “qualified immunity,” which shields police officers from lawsuits “insofar as their conduct does not violate ‘clearly established’ statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known.” But a 9th. Circuit panel let stand a $1 million judgment against San Jose Police Sgt. Michael Pina, who shot and killed Jacob Dominguez in 2017 when the man, who was being arrested on a robbery warrant, “quickly dropped his hands out of sight and moved forward.” Mr. Dominguez turned out to be unarmed, and the Supreme Court just refused to intervene. Justice Alito sharply disagreed. In his view, qualified immunity indeed applies. Related post

He was sixteen when he shot and killed his first victim. And seventeen when he allegedly gunned down five more, one at a time. And committed four attempted murders, as well. That’s what the Cook County D.A.’s office alleges Chicago teen Antonio Reyes did during a nine-month period in 2020. “It appears he was just doing it for the thrill of it — to murder people, repeatedly,” says a prosecutor. Reyes has been tied to the crimes in part through ballistics. And, as well, through his posts on social media. Related post

2/27/25 Bryan Kohberger, 28, is pending trial for the November 2022 stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students. Police initially submitted DNA profiles from a knife sheath to genetic databases that openly allow law enforcement access. However, these yielded excessively weak matches. But when investigators turned to two family-tree services that supposedly don’t allow access to the police, a far stronger match was produced. Strong enough to eventually lead police to Mr. Kohberger. His lawyers now say that warrants should have been used. But so far, a judge has turned them away. Related post

NYPD is supposedly the only major city police department that mandates applicants have college credits. It used to require sixty, the equivalent of an A.A. But the continued departure of officers has led to a “staffing crisis.” So the minimum number of college credits has been cut to twenty-four. On the other hand, it’s reinstated a requirement that applicants briskly complete a 1 1/2 mile run. Its peak headcount of 40,000 cops was in 2000. It now hopes to get to 35,000 from the present 34,100. Related post

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem announced that Federal law requires all illegal immigrants who are 14 years of age or older to officially register their (unauthorized) presence with DHS. Tools for doing so will be available online. Illegal immigrants who don’t comply “will be hunted down and deported.” Failure to register exposes violators to fines of $1,000 and six months in prison. According to the law, registrants are fingerprinted and issued a card they must always carry (click here.) Immigration updates   Related post

2/26/25 “Glossip is entitled to a new trial.” With these words Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor announced the court’s 5-3 decision throwing out the conviction of condemned Oklahoma inmate Richard Glossip for a 1997 murder. The ruling was based on prosecutors’ reliance on testimony that they knew to be false, and the destruction of documentary evidence that would have contradicted their case. Oklahoma A.G. Gentner Drummond said that he remained convinced of Richard Glossip’s guilt, but conceded that given the passage of time, retrying the case would be difficult. Glossip, who’s spent 27 years behind bars, will remain locked up until the State decides whether to hold another trial. Related post

At his confirmation hearings, Kash Patel, the FBI’s new leader, said that he would treat agents well. But his choice of Dan Bongino as his deputy has agent heads shaking. Never before has that position been held by someone without FBI experience. Bongino was once an NYPD cop and Secret Service agent. But he then became a FOX News personality and hosted a podcast in which he “derided the FBI and advanced conspiracy theories.” He’s also endorsed the notion that the 2020 election was indeed stolen. Capitol updates   Related post

Newly-appointed Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem is touting her “empowered” agency’s first month of accomplishments. The newly-passed Laken-Riley Act requires ICE to detain illegal aliens accused of thefts or violent crimes. Twice as many “criminal aliens” and three times as many absconders are being arrested. ICE’s tough new posture is also acting as a significant deterrent to illegal migration. “Single day border apprehensions hit a 15-year low and daily border encounters have plunged 94% since President Trump took office.” Immigration updates   Related post

2/25/25 According to the AP, newly-confirmed FBI Director Kash Patel was sworn in yesterday as acting head of the ATF. His appointment to this role brought on plaudits from the NSSF, the gun industry’s trade group. “Like the FBI, the ATF was weaponized by the previous administration...to carry out a radical gun control agenda. President Trump’s appointment...will return the bureau to its proper role...combatting violent crime and illegal firearms trafficking....” Whether Patel will be nominated to lead ATF in a permanent capacity is not yet known. Related post   Capitol updates