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11/25/25
Just arriving on market, Glock's "Series V" pistols replace its highly popular old line of 9mm. pistols,
which proved easy to convert to full-auto fire with widely available drop-in "auto sears." But according to the "Concealed Carry" website, a like, easily-installed modification
is already being marketed for the new guns.
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Ruling
that the prosecutor was illegally appointed, a Federal judge dismissed the indictment of former FBI
Director James Comey. A well-known nemesis of President Trump, Comey was recently indicted, at the President's
urging, of lying to
Congress when he testified before the Senate in 2020 about Trump's alleged solicitation of Russia's help in
his 2016 campaign. Trump fired Comey, who was then FBI Director, the next year. Comey is also known for
downplaying Hillary Clinton's use of a
private mail server when she served as Secretary of State for President Obama. Related posts
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A chase of a stolen car ended in a horrific crash that took the lives of
Alhambra, Calif. police officer Alec Sanders and a female passenger in the vehicle being pursued. Its driver,
Steven Zapata, 27, was also injured. He faces second-degree murder charges. Officer Sanders, 28, was recently
hired by Alhambra after serving with another agency.
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11/24/25 “It’s not right! This is not right!” That's the reaction of
the grandmother of Ta'Kiya Young, a pregnant, 21-year old woman, to the exoneration of Blendon Township officer
Connor Grubb. In August 2023 he and a partner were trying to corral Ms. Young, an alleged shoplifter, and
officer Grubb opened fire when the uncooperative suspect nudged her vehicle into his torso. Officer Grubb was
charged with murder, manslaughter and official misconduct. But a jury just acquitted him of everything. And the
judge said he was free to leave.
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Eurie Martin was behaving oddly. And he wouldn't comply with orders.
So the deputies tasered him "at least 15 times." But the mentally troubled 56-year old man had a weakened heart.
According to the coroner, the cause of his death was homicide. That tragic event, which happened in 2017, led
to the firing of Georgia deputies Henry Copeland, Michael Howell and Rhett Scott. And to their prosecution for
murder, aggravated assault and lesser charges. After two trials, each has been cleared of the felonies. Jurors,
though, hung on the misdemeanors against Copeland and Howell. So for them, a third round is possible.
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In
yet another repudiation of a forerunner's work, L.A.D.A. Nathan Hochman, a proud backer of police, asked
that charges be dropped against two former Torrance cops accused of manslaughter. Matthew Concannon and Anthony
Chavez were indicted in 2023 at the behest of former D.A. George Gascon, who came to office promising to crack
down on rogue cops. But that was after the prior D.A., Jackie Lacey, had ruled that the December 2018 shooting
of Christopher Deandre Mitchell, who was sitting in a stolen car, was justified because, among other things,
his air rifle looked like the real thing. Related posts
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Chicago youths
are beset by lethal gunplay. An evening "brawl" outside a noted theatre devolved into a shooting that left
seven youths ages 13 to 17 wounded. Spent 9mm. cartridges littered the sidewalk. An hour later officers ran
across an 18-year old man and a 14-year old youth lying on the street. Both had been shot. The younger victim
later died from his wounds. Expended 9mm. shells were again found. Mayor Brandon Johnson called these episodes a
"setback...that makes us all feel unsafe." Both were reportedly connected with a "teen takeover" that social
media posts had announced would follow the city's yearly downtown tree-lighting ceremony. Related posts
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Why has homicide dropped? A deep dive by the Washington Post into five major cities -
Baltimore, Philadelphia, Chicago, Indianapolis and Los Angeles - credits much of the improvement to
neighborhood-centered efforts that help poverty-stricken youths keep from getting caught up in the criminal
justice system. Say, "YEAH Philly," a Philadelphia group that offers young people tutoring and job skills
training (and, yes, even groceries.) And in Indianapolis, "Indy Peace," a city-funded organization that works
with police to provide services to youths who seem most at risk of turning to violence. In one example, they
helped a 21-year old who had been wounded in a street shooting renew his driver license (it had been suspended.)
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11/21/25 Your license plate is no secret to the Border Patrol. An AP
investigation reveals that immigration authorities analyze information from license plate readers with computer
algorithms that use vehicle origins, routes and destinations to identify those most likely to be transporting
illegal immigrants. License plate information is gathered from a nationwide system of readers maintained by the
DEA and from readers deployed by private firms and law enforcement agencies that get Federal funds. And when a
target is identified, the Feds may ask police to stop the vehicle, which can be done on a pretext, say, for
speed or an equipment violation.
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DOJ is suing California over its enactment of a law that generally prohibits all law
enforcement officers, local, State and Federal, of wearing facial coverings that disguise their identity.
According to DOJ, "an unprecedent wave of harassment, doxxing, and even violence" has placed Federal law
enforcement agents and their families at special risk. A no-mask rule not only makes their situation worse but
also "chills the enforcement of federal law." California law (SB 627)
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An Atlanta-area police chief was arrested by State agents for allegedly using license plate
readers to harass residents. Michael Steffman, 49, who had served as police chief in Braselton (pop. 17,000)
since April, is charged with "stalking, harassing communications, misuse of automated license
plate recognition systems and violating his oath as a public officer." He resigned shortly before his arrest.
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11/20/25 In the "Golden" State, repeat drunk drivers continue to take their
despicable human toll. On Tuesday morning, November 18, a 13-year old pedestrian was struck and killed by a
pickup truck as he stood on a "safety island" on his way to school. Bradley Gene Funk, 59, fled but was soon
arrested. He is reportedly on probation for two prior DUI's. Funk now faces murder charges. And yet another DUI.
(See 11/19 update.) Dangerous traffic scofflaws aren't just California's problem. In New York City, a well-known wig maker was
sentenced to three to nine years in prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter for killing a woman and her two
daughters. Miriam Yarimi, who had amassed "more than $12,000" in fines for recklessness and speeding, was
driving on a suspended license when she blew through a red light in March and collided with the victims' car.
Her victims' lawyer was outraged at her sentence. “I think this doesn’t send any message at all, other than a
lenient message.”
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Another day, another domestic massacre. In Baldwin Park, a Los Angeles
suburb, a 31-year old man burst into the residence of his estranged wife and her parents. Qihao Jin opened
fire, killing the couple, both 61, and critically wounding a 10-year old girl. He fled the scene, then
committed suicide.
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Seven years ago, DOJ slapped down New Orleans cops with a massive report that upbraided them for making
unwarranted stops and arrests, using excessive force, and demonstrating bias against women and minorities.
New Orleans P.D. entered into a consent decree and submitted to monitoring by DOJ's Civil Rights Division. That
supervision has just ended. According to DOJ, it's this year's seventh successful termination of a local police
consent decree.
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11/19/25 Mothers Against Drunk Drivers was founded by a California woman whose daughter was run over and
killed by a drunk motorist. It was Clarence Bush's
fifth drunk driving arrest in four years. And his second in two days. Busch served nine
months in jail. Five years later, the 51-year old man turned left on a red light, causing an accident that injured
another motorist. And yes, he was drunk. Throughout, Busch kept getting his driver licenses back. And he's not
the prime example of California's lenient posture towards drunk drivers. Consider the woman who, according to
Governing, collected fifteen DUI's. And kept driving.
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An expansive application of Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law has made Jacksonville "No. 1" among large
cities in the proportion of homicides by civilians during 2021-2024 deemed justifiable. Many took place in
lower-income, high-crime areas where citizens are distrustful of police and fear for their own safety should they
cooperate. According to a criminologist, SYG laws are a handy way for agencies to dump "difficult-to-prosecute
cases, cases that weren’t a lead-pipe cinch to get a conviction.” And as the Wall Street Journal points
out, invoking SYG can also help lower violent crime rates because justifiable homicides aren't included.
Related post
Chicago violence continues.
Around midnight Monday, Nov. 17 three "gunmen" exited an SUV in the city's needy South Lawn neighborhood
(poverty 22% v. 17% citywide) and opened fire on a "crowd" awaiting a bus. A 54-year old woman was struck in
the chest. She's reportedly in "fair condition." So far, no explanations or arrests.
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11/18/25 Indiana is an SYG State. According to 62-year old Curt Andersen, that's the law he
turned to when a pair of strangers created "a commotion" at his front door. Alas, the round he fired through the
door struck and killed Maria De Velasquez, a 32-year old housecleaner. She and her husband were on their daily
routine but had accidentally gone to the wrong house. According to the D.A., Mr. Anderson didn't have sufficient
cause under the law to open fire. He's been charged with felony voluntary manslaughter. It carries up to a 30-
year penalty.
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Nineteen-point-one million. That's what the L.A.-area city of Baldwin Park will pay 56-
year old Daniel Saldana to recompense him for needlessly serving three decades in prison. Prosecutors conceded in
2023 that a former detective had pressured witnesses to identify Saldana, who was a passenger in the vehicle
occupied by the shooter, as being the one who fired the rounds that wounded two teens. But the witnesses
ultimately stepped up and recanted, and the real shooter has been arrested.
National Registry account
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11/17/25 "I don't know what snapped in him today." That's what a neighbor said about a 22-year old man
who opened fire on law enforcement officers responding to a domestic disturbance call at a rural Kansas home.
Three Sheriff's deputies, a Highway Patrol officer and the shooter's grandfather were wounded. All are expected
to recover. Their assailant - the neighbor's husband described him as "a good kid" - was shot dead. Gun ownership
and hunting are reportedly commonplace in the area.
Related post
Neither video surveillance nor gunshot
detection technology (GDT), alone or in combination, were found to have a positive effect on clearance rates
of Chicago shootings. It might be that the frequency of these events overwhelms the police response. However,
when the city's "Strategic Decision Support Centers" get involved, their personnel, who integrate video
surveillance and GDT into a broadscale crime analysis effort, can help inform and deploy officers in ways that
seem to benefit case clearances.
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In the latest immigration sweep, ICE and Border Patrol agents have swarmed into Charlotte, N.C. and are
arresting alleged illegal aliens across the city. Their presence is being heavily criticized by citizens and
local officials, and city police deny any involvement. However, Charlotte has long been on the Federal radar. A
2009 Police Issues essay noted that
Charlotte police "partner with ICE to combat violent Central American gangs." And a 2016 essay quoted a speech in Charlotte by then-candidate Trump that
promised a “New Deal for Black America.”
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One rioter, two
pardons. Daniel Edwin Wilson played a substantial and seemingly violent role in the storming of the Capitol.
But the mass pardon didn't free him. That's because when the Feds searched his home over the Jan. 6 affair they
found guns and ammo. Wilson, they knew, was a thrice-convicted felon, so he was Federally charged (and convicted)
of being an ex-con with a gun, as well. A judge refused to agree that his pardon covered that, too, and Wilson
was returned to prison to serve his separate five-year stint. But President Trump just pardoned him of the gun
charge. Wilson is now truly a free man.
Related post
11/14/25 Memphis officials credit their city's steep crime drop to the surge of State and Federal agents that
accompanied Trump's recent intrusion. More than 2,000 criminals have been arrested, and many outstanding warrants
have been served. But some residents and city employees nonetheless resent the "invasion" and complain that
Black and Latino motorists have been singled out for especially harsh treatment. Related posts
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Youths who
reside in San Francisco's crime-beset Tenderloin district are the focus of a privately-funded effort that
will offer them activities in a "safe refuge" along with educational, job and mental health counseling. Three
local "stories" - of one youth who overdosed, another who was shot, and a third who became a cop - figured
prominently in the program's creation.
Related post
Seventeen-thousand. That's how many California commercial driver licenses are being revoked
because their holders' immigration visas have expired. The State's move comes on the heels of an accident last month
that was caused by a drug-addled California semitruck driver who was illegally in the U.S. Eight vehicles were
involved; three innocent persons were killed and four were injured.
Related post
Oklahoma
prisoner Tremane Wood was "moments" away from execution when Gov. Kevin Stitt commuted his sentence. Wood and
his brother, who died in prison, were both convicted of a fatal stabbing. Tremane had always said that his
brother was the real killer, and the victim's family had asked that his life be spared. The State's A.G.
disagreed with the outcome. “I am disappointed that the governor has granted clemency for this dangerous
murderer, but respect that this was his decision to make.”
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11/13/25
Some parts of Brooklyn scare "Jamie." So the young New York City lawyer decided to get a gun carry license.
Relieved by the 2022 Bruen
decision of the need, as New York State once required, to show "special cause," she's one of the thousands of
residents who have started to "pack." All that's needed is to get 16 hours of training and apply. The number of
applicants has skyrocketed, and "more than 17,000" N.Y. City residents have gained permission to pack a concealed
pistol since the law changed.
Related post
Just published in Criminology &
Public Policy, an assessment of a reduction in bond amounts in Palm Beach County, FL, which led to a
substantial increase in pretrial releases, did not reveal any significant effects on compliance with either the
terms of release or recidivism.
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11/12/25 Not guilty on all counts. That's
the jury's verdict in the murder, assault and misconduct trial of three former San Antonio, TX cops who shot and
killed a mentally-disturbed, hammer-wielding woman two years ago. According to officers who didn't participate in
the episode, the prosecution reflected a biased rush to judgment by the police chief and prosecutors. And that
claim was seconded by a retired police sergeant who
testified for the defense.
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11/11/25 Five million bucks each. That's what Cook County, Ill. has agreed to pay
Nevest Coleman and Derrell Fulton, who served more than two decades in prison after being coerced into falsely
confessing to a gruesome 1994 rape/murder. They were freed in 2016 after a re-investigation revealed that DNA evidence tied the crime to a man
who had been previously convicted of rape. That man confirmed that he had sexual contact with the victim, but
denied killing her. He has not yet been charged.
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11/10/25 Fired from inside, the bullet pierced the front door, killing Maria de Velasquez, a 32-year old
immigrant housecleaner who was trying to help her husband enter the home. It turns out that their keys didn't work
because they were at the wrong residence in the upscale Indianapolis suburb. Indiana is a stand-your-ground (SYG)
state, and whether the residents are in any way culpable - they had just called 911 to report an attempted break-in
- is yet to be sorted out.
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Florida troopers say they "disengaged" from the chase after a pit maneuver failed to stop one of the
participants in a Tampa-area street race. But the motorist didn't slow down. He soon lost control of his car and
slammed into a crowd outside a tavern, killing four and injuring eleven, several critically. Silas Sampson, 22,
faces four felony counts of vehicular manslaughter. According to the AP, the Florida highway patrol has
loosened restrictions on car chases.
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Bullets as pathogens? A recent
JAMA article proposes to create a
"wounding ballistics theoretical lethality index" that scores the wounding potential of a variety of ammunition
fired from different types of firearms. One objective would be to help inform policymakers about appropriate
responses to the epidemic of gun violence. And, one assumes, about the limits of what regulation can realistically
accomplish.
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11/7/25
AR-15's are so deadly because of the lethality of their .223 caliber ammunition, which is used in military
weapons. Identical ammo also regularly turns up at shootings, including mass shootings. Much of it actually comes
from a military plant. Missouri's Lake City Army Ammunition Plant is owned by the Government. But its operator also
wholesales its products to the private sector, where they are resold to retail consumers. Like the shooter who
bought over two-thousand rounds made at Lake City Armory, then used them to murder 21 persons during the 2022
massacre at Texas' Uvalde elementary school.
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Ten million
dollars. That's the amount awarded by a civil jury to a Virginia teacher who sued a former assistant principal
for ignoring student warnings that a six-year old had brought a gun to school in his backpack. That child opened
fire, permanently disabling first-grade teacher Abby Zwerner. It's not over for her former superior, who still faces
a criminal trial for felony child neglect. Nor for the child's mother, who drew four years on gun charges.
Related post
11/6/25 Torrance, Calif. police have faced intense scrutiny over a past litany of aggressive, racially-tinged
behavior. A former Torrance cop who was prosecuted for needlessly shooting a fleeing, knife-wielding Black man
in 2018 has just agreed to plead guilty and render community service. If David Chandler successfully meets the
conditions of release, charges will eventually be dismissed. Two Torrance cops - Cody Weldin and Christopher Tomsic
- recently drew probation after pleading guilty to felonies for spray-painting swastikas inside a suspect vehicle.
That happened in 2020. Two others - Matthew Concannon and Anthony Chavez - await trial for manslaughter in the 2018
death of Christopher Deandre Mitchell, whom they shot and killed as he sat in a stolen car, armed with an air rifle.
Related post
11/5/25 "Data-driven, focused operations" by Cleveland police and
a consortium of local, state and Federal agencies are targeting the armed, violent repeaters who reportedly troll the
city's crime "hot spots." According to Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, “You have to lock them up, and you have to keep them
locked up.” That, says D.A. Michael O’Malley, applies to violent juveniles as well. "At some point, the crimes they
commit dictate that they need to be removed from society.”
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Two days ago, two FBI agents who had once investigated President Trump were fired. But a few hours
later, their firings were rescinded. Then yesterday, they were fired once again. Two other agents with the same
unfortunate investigative histories were also terminated. A few days earlier, the same fate befell 27-year FBI
veteran Steven Palmer, who had led a critical incident response team. According to
People, Palmer may have been a source of media reports about FBI Director Kash Patel's unseemly use of
Government jets.
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