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12/10/25 Charlotte, N.C. resident Decarlos Brown Jr. was released from prison in 2020.
He had been serving a six-year sentence for a host of felonies, including robbery with a weapon and
making threats. Despite pleas by his family, the diagnosed schizophrenic remained free. And on August
22, while on a commuter train, he stabbed a 23-year old woman in the neck. He now faces murder charges.
And Charlotte's courts face the question of why a crazed 34-year old man with a record of 14 arrests was
allowed to roam at will.
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12/9/25 A
Philadelphia judge dismissed more than one-hundred drug cases after prosecutors conceded that three
narcotics officers "repeatedly gave false testimony in court." Hundreds more cases filed by these
officers are also likely to fall. According to prosecutors, the cops' accounts of what took place are so
riddled with "inconsistencies" that they can no longer be called on to testify for the State. And it's
not the first time. In past decades, "thousands" of Philadelphia drug cases have been dismissed for like
reasons.
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Police who lack "a legal
order or warrant" may no longer use the services of Ancestry.
com, a renowned genealogy site that uses client DNA to identify relatives and build elaborate family
trees. Detectives have long relied on its services to help track down and identify the donors of crime
scene DNA. But in August the company began enforcing a rule that prohibits its resources from being used
for law enforcement purposes "except through due process." And that's reportedly stalled many
investigations.
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In
June 2020 thirteen FBI agents who were helping monitor the George Floyd protests in D.C. took to
their knees as marchers passed by. Their actions, which they said they took to help keep the hostile
crowd in check, went viral. At the time, FBI leadership absolved them of wrongdoing. But five years
later, in September 2025, they were fired for this allegedly major breach of professionalism by newly-
installed FBI Director Kash Patel. And they just filed suit to get their jobs back.
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12/8/25 Thirty million dollars. That's what the City of San Diego has reportedly agreed to pay
the family of 16-year-old Konoa Wilson, who was shot in the back by rookie cop Daniel Gold during the
evening hours of Tuesday, January 28. Gold and his partner were at a train station on another call when
they heard gunfire. Moments later Wilson, who was reportedly fleeing from an assault, ran by. Gold
instantaneously opened fire, killing the teen. A handgun was found in Wilson's clothes, but his parents
say that he only carried it for protection from gang members. Gold remains on the force but is not on
the street.
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5,000 arrests "or beyond." That's how many illegal immigrants Operation Catahoula
Crunch seeks to arrest during its current foray into New Orleans. According to
DHS, immigration agents are targeting persons who were arrested "for home invasion, armed robbery,
grand theft auto, and rape." Local authorities are blasted for releasing these "monsters" back onto the
streets "to COMMIT MORE CRIMES and create more victims." But city leaders fear that the Feds' numerical
goals will require agents to cast a very wide net. Related posts
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In the end, the vote was 4 for, but 8 against. That's how close LAPD officers came to
being barred from using shoulder-fired launchers that discharge hard foam projectiles and tear gas. Their
deployment during immigration protests brought the agency under severe criticism, leading less-cop
friendly members of the City Council to draft an unusually restrictive ordinance. But in a raucous
session, Chief Jim McDowell pointed out that these weapons are used every day to defuse potentially
disastrous encounters. And in the end, his view prevailed.
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Immigrants arrested in 2025's high-profile ICE operations are less likely to have been convicted of
other crimes or have pending charges than those arrested in the normal course of business. Those are the
findings of a New York Times analysis of Government data obtained by the Deportation Data Project. For example, year to Oct.15, the proportion with a
prior violent conviction, any past conviction, or a pending charge was respectively 7%, 37% and 30%
nationally. But it was only 2%, 8% and 9% in the Aug-Sept. D.C. operation and 3%, 17% and 18% in the
Sept.- Oct. Illinois operation. [PoliceIssues note: the discrepancy may be exacerbated by the
refusal of the "sanctuary" jurisdictions where the special ops. took place to notify ICE of the arrest
or release of illegal immigrants who are charged with State and local crimes.]
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12/4/25 James Pugh is now truly "free." Convicted for a 1993 murder,
he and co-defendant Brian Lorenz served more than two decades in prison before withheld DNA evidence
(it suggested that a infamous third party could be the killer) helped lead to their 2019 release. But
prosecutors moved to retry both. Lorenz was retried in October; the jury hung. He's on track for yet
another go-round. Pugh's retrial was to take place this week. But after re-reviewing the evidence,
prosecutors dropped the case against him altogether. And a judge just agreed.
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12/3/25 "Kill all - martyrdom." That's what 25-year-old
Luqmaan Khan had written down in a notebook that was replete with "warfare techniques." It also contained
a detailed external diagram of the University of Delaware police station. Its campus is near the park
where New Castle County officers on routine patrol observed Khan parked at midnight. His car contained
body armor, binoculars, and a gun with a full-auto conversion kit. Another such gun was in his home.
Khan, an American citizen (he came to the U.S. from Pakistan at a young age), has been charged with
Federal gun violations.
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Experts say that "mass killings" are indeed down.
But hold the applause. While these events - defined as the killing of four or more persons - receded by
24% so far this year, and by 20% last year, "the numbers are volatile," and the yearly variations lack
explanatory power. What is common, as one would expect, is that most involve guns. Of the 3,234 people
murdered in mass killings since 2006, 81% fell to gunfire.
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Ohio has become the first state to implement a statewide program to use drones as first
responders. Public safety agencies will help develop guidelines for their use, and will receive funding
and instruction on operating and deploying these devices. For police, drones offer "real-time visual
information" that can inform responding officers. Some will also have two-way communications capabilities
for use in crisis negotiations. However, the ACLU has voiced concern that "mission creep" may expand
the use of drones to impermissible purposes.
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12/2/25 In 2022 Baltimore man Jason Billingsley gained early
release from a prison sentence for a 2013 rape. One year later he committed another rape, then
murdered his victim. A few days later, Billingsley, who was employed as a maintenance worker for a local
property management firm, used a ruse to enter one of their apartments. He raped the female tenant,
assaulted her husband, then set both on fire. They sued Billingsley's employer for failing to check his
background when he was hired. A civil jury agreed that the firm's hiring practices were indeed negligent.
They just awarded the couple $21.5 million.
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12/1/25 Four persons, including three children ages 8, 9 and 14, were
killed and fifteen others were wounded by a lone gunman who opened fire during a large
birthday gathering at a Stockton, CA banquet hall. Witnesses said that the shooter, who remains
unidentified and is on the loose, was of medium height and wearing "black pants". According to police, he
apparently targeted the event. His motive, if known, has not been released.
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Although he
is schizophrenic and has "over seventy" prior arrests, 50-year old Chicago man Lawrence Reed was
nonetheless released in August after being arrested for aggravated battery. His victim was a social worker
at the psychiatric clinic where Reed was getting outpatient treatment. According to the judge, prosecutors
didn't prove that electronic monitoring wouldn't do the job. That "proof" is now indisputably in. On the
evening of November 17, Reed poured gasoline on a 26-year old commuter train passenger and set her on fire.
Bethany McGee was severely burned. Thankfully, she survived.
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Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the former Afghan soldier who ambushed two members of the National Guard
as they patrolled D.C., was the subject of repeated email warnings sent to the the U.S. Committee for
Refugees and Immigrants last year. In these, a person who knew the refugee warned that his behavior was
extremely erratic and worrysome. Lakanwal chronically abused his wife and children. He also went through
“periods of dark isolation and reckless travel,” repeatedly driving cross-country without any clear purpose.
Lakanwal, the writer suggested, seemed likely to commit suicide.
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Three innocents killed in two months. That was the February-March 2025 toll of police pursuits
in Prince George's County, MD. In each case, the tragic end was produced by a motorist fleeing from a
traffic stop. And now "Zoey's" law - named after one of the victims, a three-year old - intends to put the
brakes on the carnage. Pursuits will need reasonable suspicion that a fleeing person committed or attempted
to commit one of a number of crimes. Officers must watch their speed and cannot simply blow through
intersections. And lights and sirens must be activated throughout.
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Another day,
another pardon. This time, President Trump's blessings are being bestowed on former Honduran president
Juan Orlando Hernandez. Last year a U.S. Federal court jury convicted Hernandez of pocketing "millions in
bribes" in exchange for helping the Sinaloa cartel smuggle hundreds of tons of cocaine into the U.S. His
45-year prison term went along with the life sentences already handed out to his brother and a helper. But a
Trump associate complained that Mr. Hernandez was "trapped" in a nasty scheme hatched by the Biden
Administration. President Trump
apparently agrees. In his view, Mr. Hernandez was treated "very harshly and unfairly." Not so, says a
former D.E.A. agent who worked on the case. He called the pardon "lunacy."
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11/28/25 Spec. Sarah Beckstrom, one of the two Army National Guard members who were ambushed while on foot
patrol in D.C., has died from her wounds. Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe is at this writing still clinging to life.
Their assailant, 29-year old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a resident of Bellingham, Washington, fired on them with
a .357 cal. Smith & Wesson revolver. A former Afghan paramilitary, Lakanwal fought alongside U.S.
troops in support of America's withdrawal. According to a childhood friend, Lakanwal had developed "mental
health issues" because of the bloodshed. He emigrated to the U.S. in September 2021 and was reportedly
granted asylum in April.
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Newark PD's two-decades-long history of DOJ slap-
downs just came to a peaceable end. On motion of the Feds, the New Jersey U.S. District Court terminated
a consent decree that NPD entered into in 2016 over (among other things) its officers' use of excessive
force while conducting stops, searches and arrests. Praising NPD's reforms, DOJ's Civil Rights Division
said it looks forward to "the continued, effective policing of the City — in a constitutional manner — to
protect all Americans from crime.”
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Since its inception three months ago, the Fed's push into Memphis has yielded over 2,800 arrests
and 28,000 traffic tickets. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (a "Red") welcomed President Trump's move to flood the
crime-beset city with Federal agents and National Guard troops. Indeed, their presence led to the seizure
of numerous guns and the arrest of many wanted persons. But some citizens resented the intrusion. It also
imposed great burdens on local courts and jails, which lacked sufficient staff and resources to handle
the output. Related posts
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"Over" $63 million bucks. That's how much a 42-year old woman
entrepreneur was ordered to recompense the U.S. Treasury for the funds she stole from the PPP program by
submitting false payroll, tax and bank records on behalf of numerous clients. That scheme, which
Stephanie Hockridge (aka Reis) perpetrated with the help of many co-conspirators, also got her a ten-year
prison sentence.
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11/26/25
Two-hundred fifty million bucks. That's what the Community Based Violence Intervention and Prevention
Initiative got last year. But Federal indulgence of neighborhood violence prevention projects is no more.
Under the new Administration, funds previously expended on "street outreach, hospital-based interventions,
and violence interrupters" are being redirected to law enforcement. That's brought on a great deal of
consternation from the "Blues," who insist that these programs helped bring down gun violence. Natch, the
"Reds" disagree.
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He's nineteen. And he just got 65 years. That's the sentence handed down by a Texas jury to 19-year
old Luke Garrett Resecker, whose pickup truck crashed head-on into a minivan two years ago. Six of its seven
occupants, ages nine to sixty, were killed; the lone survivor was paralyzed. Resecker's 17-year old passenger
suffered a brain injury and became mentally impaired. Resecker had THC in his system, and Troopers recovered
THC wax, a vape pen, and marijuana from his vehicle. Recreational pot was (and remains) illegal in Texas.
Related post
Users can become addicted to marijuana. Its daily use "has become a defining — and often invisible — part
of many people’s lives." That ranges from youngsters to a 75-year old man whose body has come to insist that he
toke up each morning. Modern-day pot is far more potent, and even casual use can have profound, negative
effects on memory and sleep. A foggy brain becomes "the new normal." And while THC and CBD are sometimes
prescribed for anxiety and depression, they can easily make things worse. A physician who specializes in such
things cautions that "for most people, the risks outweigh the benefits."
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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.
Related post
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.)
Related post
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.
Related post
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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