Putting Things Off
(#466, 4/27/25)

Pursuits hurt and kill
innocents. What are
the options?

Gun Control?
What's That?
(#465, 4/1/25)

Ideological quarrels
beset gun laws.
And gun law-making.
And gun law-enforcing.

Forewarned is
Forearmed
(#464, 3/19/25)

Killings of police officers
seem inevitable.
What might help?

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

Keep going...

5/2/25 On May 21, 2024 the L.A. Sheriff’s Dept. gave the D.A.’s office a report alleging that Mario Edgardo Garcia-Aquino, a 43-year-old youth soccer coach, sexually assaulted one of his players. But due to a case “backup” the D.A. didn’t issue a warrant for Garcia-Aquino until April 2, 2025, when the body of another of Garcia-Aquino’s soccer players was discovered in a ditch. He’s been charged with the killing, and with two instances of sexually abusing teens. According to the D.A., a new rule requires that sex abuse charges be promptly filed. And according to DHS, Garcia-Aquino is illegally present in the U.S.
D.A. news release   Related post

California prisons had 24 inmate-on-inmate killings in 2024. So far this year there’s been thirteen. Most recently, the killing of convicted rapist Renee A. Rodriguez by Kenneth Wilson, who is doing life without parole for 1st. degree murder. Other recent prison killings include the slaying of  prisoner William Couste by inmate Rodger Brown, who is doing life for a previous inmate killing. And another prisoner reportedly told his psychologist that murdering his cellmate “was a ‘freebie’ because he was already serving life.” California’s long-standing death penalty moratorium was imposed by Governor Gavin A. Newsom in March, 2019. Related post

A Southern District of Texas Federal judge who was appointed by President Trump just ruled that the Alien Enemies Act cannot be used to deport three currently detained Venezuelan natives. According to District Judge Fernando Rodriguez, Jr., the Administration’s reliance on the prospective deportee’s membership in the “Tren de Aragua” gang fails to satisfy the requirement that they participated in the “invasion” or “predatory incursion” called for by the Act. Ruling    Immigration updates   Related post

5/1/25 “Strengthening and Unleashing” are the first two words of the title to a massive Presidential  Order that proposes to do just that for the nation’s cops. Finding that they’re often “wrongly accused and abused” but lack the means to defend themselves, President Trump has ordered DOJ to step in and help out whenever the need arises. Cop training, pay and benefits will increase. Military assets will be made available, and agencies will become far more robust. Consent decrees that “unduly impede” policing will get the axe. And local and State officials who obstruct policing, such as through needless DEI initiatives, will be brought to account. Related post

According to York County, Pa. D.A. Tim Barker, an investigation into the February 2025 hospital attack by Diogenes Archangel-Ortiz revealed that West York police officer Andrew W. Duarte was struck and killed by projectiles discharged from a shotgun fired by a colleague. These rounds also wounded another officer. Police had tried to de-escalate the encounter, and D.A. Barker called the response - Archangel-Ortiz was shot dead - “100% justified and legally appropriate.” Related post

George Floyd’s May, 2020 killing sparked racial justice protests across the U.S. Two weeks later, demonstrators marched in D.C. A June 2020 A.P. photo depicts FBI agents kneeling as protesters pass by. It’s been revealed that the new Administration reassigned at least four of the pictured agents, who reportedly occupied positions in “counterintelligence, counterterrorism and cybercrimes,” to lesser roles. Their transfers, according to insiders, were intended as rebukes of the “deep state.” Related posts 1   2

4/30/25 “Spatiotemporal analytics, looking for certain patterns in how something is moving in space over time” are being used by Homeland Security to identify suspicious patterns in the 180,000-200,000 air and maritime tracks that may be present at any time. This AI-based application contributed to a five-fold increase in the number of potential threats detected “in the air, land and sea” during FY 2023. Related post

Bite-mark evidence is again “down for the count” as a Louisiana state District Court judge ruled it “not scientifically defensible.” Alas, it was the key evidence used in the 1998 murder conviction of death-row prisoner Jimmie Duncan, whose bite marks were supposedly found on the body of the toddler he allegedly drowned in a bathtub. Although his first-degree murder conviction has been tossed, Duncan remains locked up until prosecutors, who have been demanding his execution, decide whether he will be retried. Related post

A little-known Federal law enforcement organization, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, has deployed criminal investigators to assist in the Administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration. One of their key tools - a “mail cover” program that requires no warrants or court orders - uses information on the exterior of letters and boxes to help track and make connections between persons of interest. Why has the USPS gotten involved? “We want to play well in the sandbox,” says an insider. Immigration updates   Related post

4/29/25 Founded in 1989, Eugene, Oregon’s “Cahoots” program, which partnered police with medics and mental health specialists, became a model for like teams around the U.S. Alas, the relationship between Eugene’s cops and civilian crisis responders soured when the latter aligned with the “defund the police” movement. So “Cahoots” is out in Eugene. But it apparently remains active in adjoining Springfield. Related post

Located on the edge of Angeles National Forest about 15 miles NE of downtown L.A., the relatively prosperous suburb of Altadena was devastated by one of the area’s recent firestorms. Its scarred residents, of whom half lost their homes, must now contend with yet another threat: the thieves who course through each night. Thefts and burglaries are reportedly up 450%, and even occupied homes are being hit, some repeatedly. Residents complain that they’re not getting the same security as far tonier Pacific Palisades, which also burned, but where crime remains on an even keel. Related post

“Protecting American Communities From Criminal Aliens,” President Trump’s new executive order relating to immigration, orders the Feds to investigate and pursue criminal charges against state and local officials whose actions on behalf of illegal aliens obstruct the enforcement of immigration law. It also directs the compilation of a list of self-anointed State and local “sanctuary” jurisdictions so that they and the illegal aliens they harbor can be stripped of Federal funding. Immigration updates   Related post

“100 Days of The Most Secure Border in American History.” Just posted by DOJ, a brag piece that touts “the lowest monthly number of border encounters in recorded history,” under 7,200 in February. Under the previous Administration the monthly average was 160,000. What’s to be credited? A strong hand. In 100 days more than 151,000 illegal aliens have been arrested, and more than 135,000 have been deported. That exceeds last fiscal year’s entire haul. Meanwhile, in Florida, state and local police received Federal authority to partner with ICE. Dubbed “Operation Tidal Wave,” the massive joint sweep netted nearly 800 illegal immigrants, including 275 with final orders of removal. Immigration updates   Related post

4/28/25 As an LAPD helicopter whirred overhead, helping officers look for three males who fled from a hit-and-run, Jillian Lauren stepped into her backyard. She was brandishing a gun. Officers in an adjoining yard noticed. Peeking over a dividing fence, they repeatedly ordered her to put down the gun. But she didn’t. Gunfire soon broke out from both sides. Lauren was slightly wounded. Arrested for attempted murder, she claims to have been protecting herself from the bandits who prompted the police response. Police video compilation   Related post

Five Chicago P.D. tactical officers opened fire on Dexter Reed when he shot one in the wrist during a March 2024 traffic stop. Reed, who was stopped for not wearing seat belts, was killed. While his shooting was deemed justified, the officers were among a group that was being investigated for repeatedly stopping motorists, including Reed, without sufficient cause. Four remain off duty; they face retraining and brief terms of suspension. The fifth quit. A draft version of CPD’s new traffic stop policy was recently released. Related post

“Thousands” of California prison inmates have gone through a decade-old reentry program that transfers them to local facilities as they approach their release date. Its purpose, to help them re-integrate into society, has reportedly met wide success, and an expansion is in the works. But so far this year “at least” nine participants slipped off their ankle monitors and walked away. These include three convicted robbers: Dijon Barber and Deshon Daniels, who were both re-captured, and Jose Arroyo, who remains at large. Related posts 1   2

Federal felony charges have been preferred against former New Mexico magistrate judge Jose Cano and Milwaukee Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan for allegedly obstructing immigration enforcement. Cano and his wife are accused of destroying a cellphone to suppress incriminating evidence against an illegal alien who was living in one of their properties. Dugan is charged with trying to help an illegal alien who had just appeared on local assault charges dodge immigration officers who came to her courtroom. Immigration updates   Related post

4/25/25 Mob shoplifts committed by hordes of bicycle-riding teens are besetting Los Angeles-area retailers. In the latest episode, an estimated three-dozen youngsters swarmed a supermarket located near the USC campus. They raided its shelves, hurled items at security guards who dared to interfere, and threw rocks at a parked car occupied by a married gay couple. In a recent episode a group “punched and kicked” a driver who confronted them. It was captured on video, as was a similar assault last year. Related post

According to an academic article just published in the Journal of Criminal Justice, America’s  homicide clearance rate is at a historic low of 52 percent. “A neighborhood analysis of U.S homicide clearances in 50 cities: Examining race and disadvantage across neighborhood types” probes a sample of nearly sixteen-thousand census tracts to explore why. It finds four strong predictors: racial composition, economic disadvantage, housing vacancies and firearm availability. Poverty-stricken areas predominantly populated by non-Whites tend to be the most beset. Related posts 1   2

4/24/25 Oscar Ortega-Anguiano accumulated four criminal convictions between 2005-2022: burglary, vehicle theft, spousal battery with kidnapping, and most recently, vehicular manslaughter while drunk. That episode, which took the lives of two innocent 19-year olds, earned him ten years. But he’s served three, and will presumably soon be released. Presumably, into the hands of ICE. They claim that Ortega-Anguiano re-entered multiple times after deportation, and that charge could earn him twenty years. Related posts 1   2

Just published by the Washington Post, a damning resignation letter just filed by three suspended Federal prosecutors who rebuffed entreaties to drop the Federal bribery case against NYC Mayor Eric Adams. According to former Asst. US Attorneys Celia V. Cohen, Andrew Rohrbach and Derek Wikstrom, they were offered reinstatement if they “express regret and admit some wrongdoing by the Office” over its (initial) refusal to drop the charges. In their view, that would have required they “abdicate our legal and ethical obligations in favor of directions from Washington.” And that, they wrote, “is wrong.” Capitol updates   Related post

4/23/25 An unforgettable image depicts the widow of a man whom Patrick Crusius murdered during the 2019 Walmart massacre hugging the killer in a Texas courtroom. Adriana Zandri was one of several relatives of Crusius’ twenty-three victims who accepted the opportunity to interact with the shackled gunman at his plea hearing. “Pain and devastation” aside, several said they had no option but to forgive and move on. Related posts 1   2

Last year, in Worth V. Jacobson (No. 23-2248, 7/16/24,) the Eight Circuit affirmed a lower court decision that Minnesota law which prohibited persons under 21 from obtaining licenses to carry handguns in public violated the historical tradition test imposed by Bruen. And the Supreme Court just refused, without comment, to review the Circuit’s ruling. So at least for now, 18-20 year olds will be able to apply for CCW permits, at least in Minnesota. Supreme Court order list   Related post

AP’s detailed review reveals that nineteen States and D.C. allow driver licenses to be issued to persons who lack proof that they’re legally present in the U.S. Two of these States - Connecticut and Delaware - mark licenses to that effect. On the other side, Florida and Wyoming prohibit driving by persons unlawfully present in the U.S., whether they’re “licensed” or not. And that’s the direction that Tennessee House Majority Leader William Lamberth wants to go. “The sign says, `Welcome to Tennessee, illegal immigrants are not welcome.’” Immigration updates   Related post

4/22/25 “You came to inflict terror, to take innocent lives, and to shatter a community that had done nothing but stand for kindness, unity and love. You slaughtered fathers, mothers, sons and daughters...” With these words Texas State Judge Sam Medrano accepted the guilty plea of Patrick Crusius to the August 2019 murder of twenty-three persons at an El Paso Walmart. Crusius, who is already serving multiple life terms in Federal prison, will automatically draw life without parole. He pled guilty after prosecutors, who wished to ease the burden on survivor families, offered to forego the death penalty. Related posts 1   2

4/21/25 FSU mass shooter Phoenix Ikner was a deeply troubled child who took meds for “mental issues.” When he was ten his biological mother spirited him away to Norway. A court ordered his return, and she was jailed over the episode. His father remarried, and Ikner, whose birth name was Christian Eriksen, changed his name. Although he did well academically, his “white supremacist, alt-right views” worried classmates, as did his fondness for guns. His stepmother, whose handgun he used, had purchased it from the Leon County Sheriff’s Dept., where she is employed as a deputy. She’s presently on leave. Related post

A late-evening shooting in the front yard of a Chicago residence wounded three teens, ages 17, 18 and 19, one critically. The shooter, with whom they reportedly had an argument, fled in an SUV. He has not yet been identified. It happened on April 18 in the city’s poverty-stricken Austin neighborhood (Zip 60644, pov. 29.7%). Related post

Agreeing with Massachusett’s argument that “States have routinely regulated, and sometimes outright banned, specific weapons once it became clear that they posed a unique danger to public safety,” a panel of the 1st. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the state’s ban on assault weapons as consistent with the “historical tradition” requirement of the Bruen decision. Along the way, the Justices also remarked that the appellants offered “a single instance where the AR-15 -- or any other banned weapon -- has actually been used in a self- defense scenario.” Related post

Concerns that the Administration might invoke the Alien Enemies Act to summarily deport Venezuelans held by ICE in a Texas detention center led the ACLU to sue. In response, the Supreme Court just issued a summary order (Justices Thomas and Alito dissented) prohibiting any such expulsion pending a forthcoming ruling by the Fifth Circuit. And even then, it barred any removal “until further order of this Court.” Order   Immigration updates   Related post

4/18/25 When 20-year old student Phoenix Ikner stepped out of his car at Florida State University, he took out a shotgun. But it jammed. So Ikner reached in and got a handgun. It was an old service weapon once used by his mother, a long-time deputy sheriff. Ikner walked to the area of the student union building and opened fire, killing two non-students and badly wounding five other persons. Officers soon arrived; they shot and wounded Ikner when he didn’t comply with their commands. Ikner was a member of the sheriff’s “Youth Advisory Council” and participated in its training programs. In 2014 a former student opened fire in the FSU library, wounding three. Myron May, 31, was killed by police. Related post