Climate Change
(8/16/26 #487)

As the planet warms,
arson's consequences
get even grimmer

Try, Then Try Again
(8/3/26 #486)

Should prosecutions be
abandoned when juries lean
strongly to "not guilty"?

"More" Isn't
Always "Better"
(7/17/26 #485)

Chicago-area Federal
prosecutors resign en masse

Jameson
Was a Doodle
(6/26/26 #484)

Were bullets the correct
"solution" to a 106-pound
dog's bounding approach?

The Fewer the Better
(5/29/26 #483)

Flack over D.C.'s 2023 crime
surge led police managers
to adopt an "easy" fix

Who's Minding
the Door?
(5/4/26 #482)

Protective assignments
aren't done until
the protectee's gone

Another
"Straw Purchase,"
Another Massacre
(4/29/26 #481)

A gun changes hands.
Eight children die.

Should Cops
Ever Chase?
(4/15/26 #480)

Risks to innocents
may be unmanageable

Justifiable? Excusable?
Criminal?
(3/16/26 #479)

A father guns down
his child's molester.
He then runs for Sheriff.

Must Impulse Rule?
(2/19/26 #478)

Hasty policing
yields tragic outcomes

What's Up in L.A.?
(1/30/26 #477)

Crime is reportedly down.
But police shootings
are (way) up.

Place Still Matters.
A Lot.
(12/11/25 #476)

A dispute between gangsters
devolves into the massacre
of children

L.A.P.D. Blues
(11/12/25 #475)

Is ideology driving
an ex-cop's prosecution?

Take Over? Take Care!
(Part II)
(10/23/25 #474)

San Francisco lands - for
a time - on the Prez's "hit list"

Take Over? Take Care!
(10/4/25 #473)

Invasions can't fix
what's really broken

Does "Why" Matter?
(8/21/25)

The causes of criminal
violence remain in dispute

A Money Pit
(7/28/25)

Feeding cops and lawyers
is very expensive

Post-Pandemic Blues
(7/7/25)

Thievery, some of it violent, besets our nation's recovery

More Poverty,
Less Trust
(6/23/25)

Citizens who most need the
cops trust them the least

Violence Isn't Down
for the Cops
(5/30/25)

More officers are being murdered. Mostly, with guns.

All in the Family
(5/12/25)

A foot pursuit of hit-and-run
suspects turns into a firefight
with an armed resident

Putting Things Off
(5/30/25)

Pursuits Kill Innocents.
What are the Options?

Gun Control?
What's That?
(4/1/25)

Ideological quarrels beset
gun laws, gun law-making,
and gun law-enforcing

Forewarned is Forearmed
(3/19/25)

Killings of police officers
seem inevitable.
What might help?

Who's Under the Gun?
The ATF
(3/6/25)

Going after gun controllers,
for the usual reasons

Point of View
(1/30/25)

Do scholars really "get"
The Craft of Policing?

All In the Family (II)
(1/6/25)

A decade after Part I,
domestic killings remain commonplace

9/18/26  Just released, Tulane University's 2025 national violence survey found that younger, poorer, non-white, and less educated persons were significantly more likely to have experienced physical violence. For example, 8% of Black adults and 3% of White adults reported being victims of a physical assault. Nine percent of the respondents in the poorest quintile said they had been assaulted. That compared with three percent of those in the two wealthiest categories and five percent of those in the middle-income tier. Related post

In 2025 the gun homicide victimization rate for teens ages 15-19 came in at 8.1 percent. That placed them in second-worst position, just slightly better than 20-24 year-old youths, whose rate was 8.6 percent. Problem is, gun homicides for the 15-19 year-olds only fell a tiny two percent between 2019-2025. Improvements in each of the other three young-person categories were far more substantial: 22% for the 30-34 year-olds, 30% for ages 20-24, and a notable 36% for ages 25-29. Related post

9/8/26  Lindsay Clancy admits she killed her three children, ages 8 mos., three years and five years. She insists it was driven by psychosis. But the Plymouth County, MA D.A. disagrees. Her murder trial, though, just ended in a mistrial. Despite three attempts to reach a unanimous verdict, jurors remained deadlocked 11-1 (reportedly, for acquittal.) And the D.A. has not yet said whether the case will be retried. Ms. Clancy, who is paralyzed from the waist down - she jumped from a 2nd.-floor window after strangling her kids - is back at the mental hospital where she's been long confined. Related post

While jailed after murdering the deputy, Kevin Eduardo Cataneo Salazar was taped admitting that he'd long wanted to kill an officer. And he never contested being the one who pulled the trigger as L.A. County Sheriff's deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer sat in his patrol car on that fateful day in 2023. Cataneo-Salazar's claim of insanity was just rejected by a jury. And the 32-year-old local man will spend the rest of his days in prison. Related post

Liz Oyer was a Federal Pardon attorney when President Trump began his second term. And two months later - in March, 2025 - she was summarily fired. Her lawyers (yes, she's now suing) allege that Ms. Oyer was let go because she had denied an application by actor Mel Gibson to have his Federal gun rights restored. He lost them in 2011 after pleading no contest to a misdemeanor charge of domestic violence. And in April 2025 - one month after Ms. Oyer was fired - he got them back. Related post

Nevada has been beset by wildfires. Last weekend Sheriff's deputies patrolling brushland near Reno happened upon a small blaze that had just broken out. A small pile of logs marked the point of origin. A car had just left the area, and it was promptly stopped. It contained "multiple split wooden logs, matches, lighters, charcoal lighter fluid and tumbleweed fire starters." Its driver, Damien Pineda-Contreras, 29, was arrested. He's been charged with third-degree arson. Related post

"A massive street takeover." That's what LAPD officers encountered in a commercial neighborhood during the early morning hours of Sept. 5. "Droves" of officers from multiple agencies surrounded the area. Dozens of revelers were arrested and a stunning 160 cars were impounded. Drivers were "booked" and everyone else was cited. Six guns were confiscated. Related post

9/4/26   Jimmy Steverson shot himself dead as South Carolina officers closed in. The 23-year-old man was fleeing from Warm Springs, Georgia, where he had just shot and killed police officer Chris Fisher as he sat in his car. Days earlier, Officer Fisher had arrested Steverson at a gas station for having marijuana and "AR style rifles." During the encounter Steverson punched the officer, and was charged with that as well. But he quickly bonded out. Related post

Thirty-five-year old Minneapolis man Carlton Johnson II opened fire in an apartment building, killing two fellow tenants and wounding three police officers. He then committed suicide. Johnson had a long court record, but his only convictions were for domestic assault, both misdemeanors. Johnson had a gun-carry permit, and did so openly. But tenants complained that he had threatened them with the gun, and there was a forthcoming court date over his impending eviction. Related post

Reckless homicide. That's the crime that former Columbus, OH police officer Ricky Anderson just pled guilty to committing during the early morning hours of August 30, 2022. Anderson and a partner were at the residence of Donovan Lewis to arrest him on gun and domestic violence charges. But when Lewis awakened, he reportedly raised his hand. Anderson instantly fired, killing the 20-year-old man. But all Lewis had was a vape pen. Anderson faces up to four years imprisonment. Related post

In January, ICE Agent Christian Castro fired through the front door of a Minnesota residence, wounding Julio Sosa-Celis, an illegal immigrant whom agents sought to arrest. ICE accused Castro and his partner of lying about their actions and placed them on leave. Minnesota charged Castro with assault, and he was arrested in Texas. But it released Castro and has refused to extradite. However, Castro was just Federally indicted for making false statements. The first-ever Federal prosecution of an ICE agent will soon be underway. Related post

9/3/26  "Devastating to local businesses." That's how a Memphis citizen group characterizes the effects of the Memphis Safe Task Force. Begun by President Trump, it pairs agents from Immigration, the FBI and other Federal agencies with local and state police to patrol the streets of the crime-beset city. But their aggressive approach and frequent breach of public and commercial space have upset many ordinary members of the community. As have two recent shootings: one, of an allegedly armed man by a National Guard member, and another by a DEA agent serving an arrest warrant. Related posts 1   2

Every State is funded under the Federal "TANF" and "SSI" programs to provide financial assistance to needy families and individuals. But a new DOJ ruling requires that to continue receiving these funds, States must henceforth "report individuals known to be not lawfully present in the United States" to Homeland Security. If they don't, the money (it's a huge amount) will be cut off. A 1998 Clinton Administration opinion to the contrary has been officially rescinded. And the fight is on. Related post

They're not "school" shootings. Instead, they're shootings near schools, "in the neighborhoods where students live, walk, play and learn." And between 2017-2025 the two large cities with the worst rates also happened to be two of our "usual suspects" crime-wise. Baltimore had 4,722 (rate 91/100,000) and Milwaukee had 4,147 (rate 81). And, yes, Washington D.C. came in third, with 4,017 shootings (rate 66). Rounding out the "top 10", in order, are Oakland, Minneapolis, Memphis, Detroit, Atlanta, Louisville and Miami. Related post

"Distract law enforcement." That's the purpose that the Governor of a Colombia region beset by wildfires attributes to criminal gangs whom she accuses of setting the blazes. According to Gov. Adriana Matiz, videos depict "men on motorcycles" committing the foul deeds, and a fire department confirms that gasoline was used to start one. Gangs are said to be illegally mining gold and extorting legitimate miners. And the profits surpass those from growing coca. Related post

9/2/26  "The officer was a safe distance from Pysher behind a car, and the victim had his hands in the air and did not possess any type of weapon." Along with his failure to use non-lethal tools, that's why small-town Pennsylvania cop Sean Farrell was charged with voluntary manslaughter in the shooting death of a 22-year old college student who accidentally went to the wrong house to meet up with friends. Glenwood Pysher didn't "drop to the ground" when ordered, and he was 17-20 feet away and walking towards the officer when he was shot. Related post

Homicides are down. But traffic deaths are up. Might the plunge in police traffic enforcement be to blame? That's one of the questions addressed by the L.A. Times, which has long criticized LAPD's specialized crime-fighting units for making pretextual traffic stops. This practice, which agency overseers sought to ban, seems to have waned. At the same time, personnel shortages have led to fewer cops being assigned to "legitimate" traffic work. Has a lessened fear of being ticketed made L.A.'s streets more dangerous? Related post

The National Guard recently left New Orleans. According to the city's crime commission, their presence, which was authorized by the Trump Administration, helped drive down crime, both directly and by helping city cops do their jobs. That assistance was particularly evident in the crime-beset French Quarter. This area will continue to get special attention. New inter-agency partnerships and the arrival of sixty recruits who are presently in the academy should also help. Related post

Very "Blue-ish" New York state just passed a law that prohibits local law enforcement agencies from entering into "287g" agreements with ICE to help enforce immigration laws. And that just led a coalition of fifteen sheriffs to sue. They're seeking to protect existing agreements and to block the formation of the state's new "Office of Immigrant Trust." Wayne County Sheriff Robert Milby, for one, insists that working with ICE is vital for holding down crime. Like struggles are underway in Maryland, New Mexico and Virginia. Related post

9/1/26  Seeking to make even bigger and more solid criminal cases, in 2024 DEA dropped a policy that required agents to promptly seize fentanyl. And in 2025 this "letting drugs walk" approach helped make "the largest fentanyl bust in history." But it also let 100,000 pills hit the streets. Distraught DEA employees blew the whistle, and both Congress and DOJ are examining whether like practices are being used elsewhere. Related posts 1   2

In 2024, after nine years of back-and-forth between a series of prosecutors, newly-elected D.A. George Gascon charged ex-LAPD cop Clifford Proctor with murder for needlessly shooting and killing a man during a 2015 struggle. But two months ago, Judge Ronald Coen dismissed the case for a lack of evidence. Proctor, though, was just re-indicted. And again, it's for murder. Related post

8/31/26  It was a "plastic fork." But a first-year LAPD rookie thought it was a weapon. And when Jason Maccani wasn't brought down by a less-lethal round and charged at the cops, Officer Caleb Garcia-Alamilla opened fire, killing the mentally-disturbed man. Police had responded to the skid-row warehouse on an "assault with a deadly weapon call". But Maccani had none, and Officer Garcia-Alamilla's actions were ruled "out of policy." He's no longer with LAPD. And Maccani's relatives just settled their lawsuit against the city for $5.8 million. Related post

Accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed still awaits trial. His initial confessions while held overseas can't be used as they were the product of torture. And a military judge just ruled that his statements while at Guantanamo were also produced through coercion. What's more, the FBI never told Mohammed that he could keep quiet. His confessions are reportedly key to the case, and military prosecutors must now decide what to do. Mohammed's trial is set for June, 2028. Related post

After a struggle and the use of tear gas, LAPD officers arrested Jose Carlos Hoyos-Munoz for stabbing his mother and a relative at the family home. Two days later, while the mentally-ill 58-year-old man was in a jail cell, he began pounding on the door. As an LAPD video shows, multiple officers went in, piled on and delivered a series of blows. Hoyos-Munoz became seemingly unresponsive. He was handcuffed and proned out on his bunk. And when officers returned to check on the man, they found him dead. Related post

Concerns about the police abuse of license-plate readers have sharply increased. These worries extend to key Republican members of Congress. As one posted on X, "Mass Surveillance + Government + AI is a very, very bad combo for freedom." In a Chicago suburb, an officer was demoted and suspended for misusing a Flock camera. His agency now requires "a case number and reason" for every inquiry. It's also using Flock's AI tool for flagging suspicious queries. Police agencies continue to view the systems as highly useful. But there are moves afoot to require formal warrants for each search or ban the cameras altogether. Related post

Washington Park is in Chicago's 2nd. District. And while things have improved elsewhere in the besieged city, in Wentworth (the District's true name) shootings and killings are up. And now, they're way up. On Saturday night a large, festive gathering took place in the District's major urban park. And while revelers enjoyed meals and listened to music, two shooters wearing ski masks opened fire from across the street. A member of the crowd fired back. A 35-year-old partygoer was killed and fourteen others were wounded, including a 47-year-old woman. Police recovered numerous cartridge casings in both handgun and rifle calibers. But the shooters fled, and as of yet, no motives or leads have been revealed. Related post

8/28/26  In "Operation Last Call", the Feds joined with local police to combat gun violence in crime-beset areas of Nashville. Undercover agents purchased more than 160 guns, including many assault-style rifles, and several kilograms of meth, fentanyl, cocaine and crack. They also seized a bucketful of illegal parts that convert pistols into machine guns. Forty-four persons were arrested for selling these goodies; of these, twenty-seven were convicted felons and ten were on probation, parole or supervised release. Related posts 1   2

8/27/26  Eight members of a "blended family," including four children ages 7-15, were shot dead in a Billings, MT home. Their killer, 44-year-old Alan Smith, had lived in the home but was recently asked to stay away by its owners, his elderly parents. Smith intruded during a Sunday dinner and opened fire, killing the children, two adult guests, and his parents. He then committed suicide and set the home on fire. Related post

"More than 4,000 children 17 or younger" were shot and hospitalized in Florida between 2018-2024. These tragedies overwhelmingly occurred in "a tiny number of ZIP codes". As one would expect, these are overwhelmingly poor places beset with physical and social neglect. But while the gun violence that's common to such areas undoubtedly affects their inhabitants' mental health, the connection remains officially ignored. Related post

He was a 22-year-old college senior. And after a night of drinking with his friends, he left for the house where he was supposed to spend the night. But he apparently wound up at the wrong place. And his 12:30 a.m. shouts of "Hey! Open the door!" led a suburban Philadelphia resident to call the cops. They promptly arrived. What happened next is unclear, but Glenwood Pysher IV was soon shot dead. Related post

8/26/26  A new analysis confirms that local jails turn over the fewest immigrants to ICE in Oregon, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York and Washington, the five states with the strictest "sanctuary" policies. But while ICE leaders promised to step up street raids in sanctuary jurisdictions, a criminologist who looked into the data didn't note a difference. "They don't stop doing stuff in the community just because they can get in the jails." Related post

New Orleans' 2025 New Year's day celebrations were shattered by a self-professed Islamist radical who opened fire on famed Bourbon street, killing fourteen. At the Governor's request, a contingent of 350 National Guard troops was brought in to provide security for the 2026 affair. Their deployment in the French Quarter, though, continued to the present. So far they've done 4,000 patrols and have helped make 171 arrests. But they're finally going home. Related post

Five bodies were discovered in a rural Portland home. Each had been shot. The suspect, Benjamin Parker, 36, had been dating one of the victims. Police pinged his cellphone to a city in Washington state, about 190 miles away. Authorities in that community used Flock cameras to discover that one of the victims' vehicles, which Parker had apparently stolen, had just been in the area. And when they went looking, they discovered the car. Parker was inside. He had committed suicide. Related post

8/25/26  "It's a dramatic drop." That's how the spokesperson for a police group describes Miami-Dade County's 30 percent drop in homicides between 2023, when 184 persons were murdered with guns, and 2025, when 128 were killed. What's more, these improvements assertedly include "random" drive-by's as well as killings between persons known to one another. Meanwhile the Administration, with support from the CDC, touts defensive gun use. Depending on the data source, these episodes number between 60,000 to 2.5 million a year. Related posts 1   2

Police de-escalation training works best when it includes both verbal and physical skills. To help officers accurately estimate threats, trainers should address "confirmation bias" and "cognitive distortions like catastrophizing," which can lead to needless and excessive uses of force. A current, highly publicized example of the latter just took place in Phoenix, where two cops were just fired and arrested for violently and needlessly punching and Tasering an unresisting couple during a traffic stop. Informed of what had just happened, an officer from an adjoining agency thought the incident was "an attempted carjacking" by persons posing as cops. Related posts 1   2

Virginia man Cecil Thompson was jailed in Lycoming Co., VA between July and November, 2020. He was charged with committing an armed invasion of a home that he regularly passed while walking home from his workplace. Thompson denied being involved, and he was considerably taller than the suspect. But he was identified by the victims from a photograph that depicted him in his work attire. So the judge bound him over for trial. But the perpetrator had touched many items in the home, and reports soon came in eliminating Thompson's fingerprints and DNA. What's more, "Thompson's account was signed on to his Xbox at the time of the invasion." Yes, Thompson's suing. Related post

8/24/26  A Texas-based Federal Judge has again come out in favor of "ghosts." Last year Judge Reed O'Connor moved to quash ATF's enforcement of a ban on unserialized parts kits from which a gun can be assembled. But in Bondi v. Vanderstock, the Supreme Court ruled that if all the parts to make a gun are present, a serial number is required. So in a brand-new decision, Judge O'Connor ruled that the ban doesn't apply to the "partially manufactured frames and receivers" peddled by Defense Distributed. So the struggle continues. Related post

102 years. That's the prison term imposed in 1996 on retired LAPD detective Michael Brambles for a rape and robbery spree that he embarked on while on medical leave, two months before his March 2014 retirement. But in 2018 California eased sentencing laws, and in 2020 Brambles was granted elder parole. One of the robbery/rapes, though, had been committed in another county, and was dropped after Brambles was imprisoned for his L.A.-area crimes. That case, in Ventura county, is now back on, although without the rape. Brambles, 77, is in jail, awaiting trial. Related post

In 1999 Guy Miles, a California ex-con, was convicted by a jury and drew a 75-year sentence for participating in the armed robbery of a financial office in Orange County. But in 2017, after Miles had served nearly 18 years, his alleged accomplices said that he hadn't been involved. Miles took up the D.A.'s offer of freedom in exchange for a guilty plea. And a judge just ruled that had jurors been aware of all the evidence, Miles would have likely escaped conviction. With the cooperation of the D.A.'s office, the original judgment was just thrown out. Related post

"Human-caused and uncontained." That's what Nevada authorities say about the ongoing Reno- area "Hawk" wildfire, which has consumed a 20 sq. mile forest region bordering California. So far 42,000 area residents have been ordered to evacuate, and expected heavy winds have placed many neighborhoods at risk. Details about the nature of the "human cause" are yet to be revealed. Related post

8/21/26  LAPD discovered the three bodies four days after 57-year-old L.A.-area man Patrick Kevin Spurlock allegedly shot the men dead during an argument. Spurlock was arrested three weeks later, on July 13. He's being held on three counts of murder. And it's not the first time. In 2003 he shot and killed a man during a quarrel in Washington. He was extradited from California, pled guilty, and served 17 years. And upon his release in 2022 he ran for a House seat as an "independent." No, he didn't win. Related post

Their bullets missed. LAPD officers patrolling violence-beset Newton area responded to a call of a man flaunting a gun. They encountered the man and ordered him to stop. Instead, the man pointed his object at the cops, and "at least one" opened fire. The shots missed. It turned out that the intended target was carrying a realistic-looking water pistol. So far this year LAPD officers have fired on half as many persons (13) as at this point last year, when the count was 25. Related post