Crime @ MindSay 
murder
Military WrapsTM Unveils New Camouflage Technology PIRATETM
Stockhouse.com, (06/13/2008)
To aid law enforcement and military personnel in achieving realistic training exercises, Military WrapsTM, Inc., which specializes in camouflage concealment, has created Photo-Immersive Realistic Aides for Training Environments (PIRATETM). The system is designed to accurately create and depict situations based on high-megapixel images that can be altered to enhance the perception of scale and perspective for the user, and then the images are printed to special vinyls. These vinyls can be used to make rooms, offices, city blocks, schools, or parade routes and then be applied to the interior or exterior of the agencies training facility.
www.stockhouse.com/News/USReleasesDetail.aspx?n=6939185
Tasers Getting More Prominent Role in Crime Fighting in City
The New York Times, (06/15/2008), Al Baker
One of the Nation's largest police forces is re-evaluating the use of the Taser as a less-lethal option for the department. However, the New York City Police Department (NYPD) isn't just putting the units out on the streets; it is using a study from the RAND Corporation, using feedback from department personnel about the study, and using an internal study between two similar departments (one with the Taser and one without) as a guide for the implementation of the Taser. The RAND study was commissioned in 2007 after a police-involved shooting found two things: that additional study would be needed based on current available Taser use data, and the department's 455 fatal police-involved shootings may have ended differently had a Taser been an alternative. For now, NYPD's plan is to move Tasers from the trunks of certain vehicles to the gun belts of the agency's 3,500 sergeants while continuing to analyze full implementation of the Taser units.
www.nytimes.com/2008/06/15/nyregion/15taser.html?_r=1&ref=nyregion&oref=slogin
GE Security's MobileTrace Helps Iredell County Sheriff Identify Narcotics-Tainted Cash
BusinessWire.com, (06/16/2008)
Iredell County Sheriff's Office officers using GE Security, Inc's MobileTrace were able to seize almost $300,000 cash from a rental car stop. The MobileTrace technology is portable and capable of detecting explosive and narcotics at the same time. The information collected by the units can be used as evidence and allows officers to evaluate findings in a timely fashion while in the field.
www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20080616005275&newsLang=en
DuPont Announces New Kevlar Technology
Forbes.com, (06/16/2008), Randall Chase
The development of a more demanding National Institute of Justice (NIJ) standard for body armor has resulted in DuPont, Inc., producing a new Kevlar product. The new product is a lighter woven material coupled with a new process for coating the fibers. According to DuPont, the new material will stop the projectile sooner with less layers, allowing the remaining layers to protect against backface deformation. The new material will have a broad range of applications for the company, but initially the aim is greater protection for law enforcement against high-caliber handguns.
www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2008/06/16/ap5121589.html
Tech-Savvy: Mineral Co. Sheriff's Office Gets New Equipment
News-Tribune, (06/13/2008), Bobbie Carpenter
The Mineral County Sheriff's Office is purchasing laptops to be installed in 6 of the agency's 12 cruisers. These laptops must be in place and be used to transmit electronic traffic reports by 2009 in order to comply with a State mandated law. The first six laptops were purchased using a Federal grant from the Governor's Highway Safety Program, and additional laptops for the remaining cruisers will hopefully be funded through the county's budget. The sheriff's office used concealed weapons funding to purchase the mounts for the first six vehicles to be equipped with the laptops.
www.newstribune.info/news/x822800157/Tech-savvy-Mineral-Co-Sheriff-s-Department-gets-new-equipment
Police Use GPS-Equipped Bait Car to Catch Car Thieves
Government Technology, (06/09/2008), Jim McKay
Catching car thieves using a bait car began in the late 1990s, but required much police manpower to monitor the vehicle. Times have changed, and now officers can go about their regular duties instead of monitoring the vehicle. In Sacramento, California, the bait car is equipped with GPS that activates should the car be tampered with or started, and alerts police dispatch at the command center so they can track the vehicle's location and notify nearby officers to respond. Should the thief try to run when officers attempt to stop the vehicle, the dispatcher will be notified and has the ability to activate the car's kill switch, which will gradually slow down and shut off the vehicle. For added measure, the dispatcher can also lock the car to prevent the thief from running away on foot. Benefits of this type of system are huge, both for police and the public because it eliminates and/or significantly reduces the opportunity for a high-speed chase.
www.govtech.com/gt/366274?topic=117680
CSI: Anchorage-Summertime Sleuths
Anchorage Daily News, (06/16/2008), Megan Holland
Riding the popularity wave of the "CSI" series and subsequent spinoffs, a summer camp started by a South Anchorage High biology teacher draws on the popularity to teach students and maybe develop future forensic specialists. Students participate in mock crime scenes to gather and analyze evidence to help solve the "crime." Along the way, and without noticing because of the fun they are having, students learn biology, chemistry, and physics. The camp is operated by the Fraternal Order of Alaska State Troopers.
www.adn.com/crime/story/437803.html
DNA Evidence Gains Acceptance as a Key Tool in Robbery Cases
The Wall Street Journal, (06/19/2008), Gautam Naik
DNA evidence more commonly used for serious offenses like rape or murder is now being considered as an option for helping to solve property crimes. However, the down side to what seems to be an effective tool is the cost associated with such analysis. Analysis may be or can be more than some jurisdictions can afford. A five-city pilot project funded by the National Institute of Justice indicated that DNA evidence can have a powerful and positive affect on property crime investigations. According to Steve Allison of the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center at Denver University, "People committing serious crimes usually start on smaller ones. So through this process you can get these people identified and in the system earlier." This concept is now new in Great Britain, which has embraced a broader use of DNA evidence, and because of the results the U.S. Department of Justice funded this five-city project.
online.wsj.com/article_email/SB121384113207187445-lMyQjAxMDI4MTEzOTgxNDkxWj.html
Tracking the Event Horizon
Corrections.com, (06/17/2008), Ann Coppola
The 9th Annual Innovative Technologies for Community Corrections conference highlighted the latest innovations in tools for offender monitoring, as well as risk assessment and testing, but it also showcased tools and technology not yet available to practitioners. Conference attendees involved in various aspects of community corrections came from several foreign countries and 44 U.S. States. One technology on display was hybrid GPS tracking that incorporated cellular communications to ensure indoor tracking and monitoring. The conference sponsor, the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center-Rocky Mountain, introduced the newest version of Field Search and discussed the future release of a Macintosh compatible version. Of particular note was the increase in law enforcement attendees. Agencies are seeing advantages to working with those in the community corrections field due to the information produced as a result of offender monitoring.
www.corrections.com/news/article/18816
Pistol Cam: When Cops Draw This Point-and-Shoot, Say Cheese
Wired.com, (06/23/2008), Vince Beiser
The SWAT team of the Orange County (New York) Sheriff's Office has recently begun using the PistolCam. The PistolCam is a small device, combining a video camera, a flashlight, and a laser sight, that attaches to the underside of a gun barrel. The camera begins recording when the gun is drawn and can store an hour of video. Developed by Legend Technologies, the PistolCam is priced at $695.
www.wired.com/gadgets/miscellaneous/magazine/16-07/st_pistolcams
Family Of Subway Robbery Suspect Says Customer Shouldn't Have Pulled Trigger
POSTED: 10:30 am EDT June 29, 2007
PLANTATION, Fla. -- The family of one of the men who was shot by a retired United States Marine while they attempted to rob a Subway sandwich shop said the customer shouldn't have pulled the trigger.
According to Plantation police, two armed men barged into the Subway at 1949 Pine Island Road shortly after 11 p.m. Wednesday, demanding money from the employee behind the counter. When they tried to force John Lovell into the bathroom, he pulled out a gun and shot both men, police said.
Donicio Arrindell, 22, was shot in the head and later died at the hospital. Fredrick Gadson, 21, was shot in the chest and ran from the Subway, but police found him in hiding in some bushes on the property of a nearby BankAtlantic.
Lovell, 71, was the lone customer at the time. Police said he had a concealed weapons permit.
Gadson's grandparents told Local 10 on Thursday that Lovell was wrong for pulling the trigger.
"He should not have taken the law in his hands," said Rosa Jones, Gadson's grandmother.
Her husband, Ivory Jones, also condemned the media for its portrayal of Lovell's actions.
"I don't condone what they did, (but) I definitely don't condone the news people making him out to seem like they're making a hero out of this man because he shot somebody down," he said.
But Lovell's neighbor said he made the right decision.
"He did the right thing," said Wendi Hill. "I mean, I was glad that it was them that got shot and not him."
Police said Lovell, a retired Marine, wouldn't be charged.
The Scottsdale Police Department in Arizona will host an Advanced Criminal Investigative Analysis Course from August 18th thru 22nd. The course will be presented by Phoebe L. Kelsoe, Ph.D. of the Alpha Group Center for Crime and Intelligence Analysis Training, and may also fulfill your state's peace officer commission (POST, TCLOSE, etc.) requirements for continuing education or training hours.
Designed primarily for investigators and crime analysts who are responsible for investigating or assisting in the investigation of homicide, in-class projects also deal with the crime of rape. Other relevant issues are examined as well. For example, you will learn how to identify the personality and behavioral characteristics of the victim and the offender in child abductions, how to identify the physical, behavioral, and personality characteristics of offenders who attack and kill elderly women, and how to analyze information contained in police reports to actually develop a profile that describes the type of offender who most likely committed the crime.
Each participant will receive a copy of the "Advanced Criminal Investigative Analysis Study Guide and Workbook." This manual provides numerous pages of class notes and supplemental reading material that will be used extensively throughout the course, and a copy of "Case Management for Missing Children Homicide Investigation." This booklet provides a wealth of information about offenders who commit child homicides, their victims, crime scene patterns, violent acts, and their motivations for committing such violent crimes. Tuition for the course is $525 and includes the week of instruction, the text, and all related course materials.
To obtain a course brochure or to register for the course, please contact Det. Jennifer Paxson at the Scottsdale Police Department, 10225 E. Via Linda, Scottsdale, AZ 85258; by phone at (480) 312-6318, by fax at (480) 312-9018, or by e-mail at jpaxson@scottsdaleaz.gov. Additional information about the content of the course can also be found on the Alpha Group website at www.alphagroupcenter.com.
or Why I am Atheist
by narodniki
There's always this talk about achieving world peace. It's probably the most abused phrase in the whole of creation. I often wonder why God, in all his wonder and awesomeness did not include this itsy tiny bit in the whole package. Now what we have are people killing people. And as time progressed, so did our creativity in inflicting pain and suffering towards others.
They (the Catholic Church, evangelicals, charismatics, etc) always say that all of this is just a test for God to see if we truly are deserving of our place in heaven. So he's up there right now, watching all these killings and sufferings and what does he do about it? Nothing. Because the cocksucker wants to find out if we truly are deserving to be with him for all eternity.
This is just plain fucking stupid. If that is true, if God truly exists, then the least that I can say about him is that he is an insolent obnoxious asshole who has a twisted morality. Yep, that's what he is. And I give him the opportunity right now, right at this moment to smite me for all this blasphemy, and for future ones to come.
Personally, I would not even think of getting near a person like him. Talk about omniscience, eh? Knowledge about all the things that have and will happen. Why can't he use that?
And then there's the Bible. Just what the fuck is it all about? I think that the Bible is the filthiest piece of garbage there is. I've read much more enlightening stuff. Crazy religious folks (CRFs) hold on to its words like its giving them an orgasm or something.
Maybe people subscribe to this bullshit because of fear. They think that they do not want to go to hell. They think that being all burned up in eternity forever with Satan in the lake of fire, is something that's really terrible. They don't want God's wrath to descend upon them, they think that damnation really sucks.
Personally, I don't think that's the most terrible thing that can happen. I am a TVaddict and I'm telling you, the stuff that I see on the news everyday is far more horrible than all that damnation stuff.
Children on Africa dying of AIDS and hunger in extreme misery. Young girls, 3, 4, 5, years old being raped by an entire squad of soldiers. And these kids, if they're lucky, are left to live. I once heard of something called a fistula. Children in their early teens get pregnant, and because their vaginas are still too small, it would tear in childbirth and complications would occur, involuntary urination and defecation would result, that is if they survive. And more often, the infant, being squeezed up and all that trauma, would not survive the birth.
And all these stupidities are repeated again and again in the history of mankind. Dumb monkeys, stupid fucks, retarded assholes that people are, I honestly cannot see any ray of hope.
We're already in hell. We just don't realize it yet.
POSTED: 1:10 pm CDT June 30, 2008
UPDATED: 6:39 pm CDT June 30, 2008
HOUSTON -- A Pasadena homeowner who fatally shot two men suspected of burglarizing his neighbor's house was cleared by a Harris County grand jury on Monday, KPRC Local 2 reported.
Joe Horn's attorney, Tom Lambright, said that his 62-year-old client "acted in self-defense and had no choice."
Grand jurors announced the decision to not have charges filed against Horn after gathering evidence for two weeks, including hearing testimony from Horn.
Pasadena police said Horn killed burglary suspects Hernando Torres, 38, and Diego Ortiz, 30, by shooting them in the back at about 2 p.m. on Nov. 14 as they ran from Horn's neighbor's house in the 7400 block of Timberline Drive.
"Today, having heard and considered all the evidence, the grand jury no-billed Joe Horn. I can tell you the grand jury conducted a thorough review of the evidence and the testimony," Harris County District Attorney Ken Magidson said.
"I think evidence showed Joe was within his legal rights to do what he did. He didn't want to do it. But he didn't have any other alternative. (In a) situation like that, it occurred so fast, there was no time for thinking," Lambright said. "This was a bad situation. Joe didn't want to be there. I hope no other homeowner is ever placed in that position. Joe was not some kind of wild cowboy. He was trying to help police. He got put in a situation that any one of us could find ourselves in."
Horn called 911 and told a dispatcher he witnessed two men break into his neighbor's house and that he would shoot if he stepped outside.
Horn told a 911 operator to hurry police because he was not going to let the men get away.
Horn: "I can't take a chance on getting killed over this, OK?"
911: "No."
Horn: "I'm going to shoot."
911: "Stay inside the house and don't go out there, OK?"
A few minutes later, Torres and Ortiz, both illegal immigrants, were dead.
Horn's attorney said the grandfather regretted killing the men, but that Horn acted in self-defense. Texas law gives homeowners the right to use deadly force to defend lives or property.
"It could have been, they believed Joe Horn. It could have been they believed the castle doctrine applied. It could have been they thought anybody confronted with two burglars coming out of their neighbor's house in broad daylight deserved the ultimate punishment," said Brian Wice, Local 2's legal analyst.
The district attorney was asked what message the grand jury's decision might send.
"I think the message we're trying to send out here today is that the criminal justice system works. That every case will be looked into thoroughly and appropriately, and every case will be judged on its merits," Magidson said.
Horn was hailed as a hero by some and condemned as a killer by others. Hundreds on both sides demonstrated outside his Pasadena home after the shootings.
"There is not a snowflake chance in (expletive) that an African-American could have done what Joe Horn did and not be locked away in the Harris County jail," community activist Quanell X said in a statement Monday.
District Attorney's Statement
District Attorney Kenneth Magidson issued the following statement regarding the decision of a Harris County grand jury to no-bill Joe Horn.
"In June, after the conclusion of a long and exhaustive investigation by the City of Pasadena Police Department into the deaths of Hernando Riascos Torres and Diego Ortiz on November 14, 2007, our office presented the results of that investigation and all relevant witnesses to a Harris County grand jury for them to determine whether any criminal offense had been committed by Joe Horn, in relation to their deaths. Today, having heard and considered all of the law and evidence, the grand jury no-billed Joe Horn.
"Although, by state law, I cannot discuss the actual proceedings in the grand jury, I can tell you that the grand jury conducted a thorough review of the evidence and testimony. They considered the relevant criminal statutes in Texas, including those pertaining to homicide, use of deadly force, self-defense, and defense of property. In short, before making their decision, they were as well-informed on the facts and circumstances of this case as any deliberative body could be.
"I also understand the concerns of some in the community regarding Mr. Horn's conduct. The use of deadly force is carefully limited in Texas law to certain circumstances, and each case stands or falls on its particular facts.
"This office will continue to aggressively prosecute anyone who illegally engages in the use of force, deadly or otherwise, against another. In this case, however, the grand jury concluded that Mr. Horn's use of deadly force did not rise to a criminal offense.
"As independent decision-makers of probable cause in our most serious criminal cases, the grand jurors deserve our deference and respect for their role in our criminal justice system."
City of Pasadena Statement
"With a decision by the grand jury not to return a true bill against Mr. Horn, a panel of citizens drawn from the community has determined that the facts of the incident did not warrant the handing up of an indictment for criminal actions. The grand jury, hearing the available facts and witnesses as well as the law to be applied in this case, is in the best position to make that determination.
"Mr. Horn has satisfied the state, through the grand jury process, that his actions do not warrant criminal prosecution on these charges. We hope that the decision of the grand jury, while difficult for some to accept, will be respected as the product of a careful weighing of all the facts by an impartial panel of citizens.
"This incident has been a tragedy for all those involved, changing lives forever. The obvious lessons that can be drawn from it are that criminal activities are inherently a dangerous lifestyle, and the prevention and pursuit of those involved in criminal actions are best left to the police. They are professionals trained to meet the unexpected circumstances of pursuit and apprehension. The City of Pasadena intends to continue to provide its police force whatever resources required to assure our citizens that their community remains a safe place to live and work."
I may not have my facts right, and I may be the odd one out here, and of course you are free to disagree with me. But I think this guy should have been prosecuted. I've been following this on the news and via some other sources and what I got from the whole thing is that this guy saw his neighbor's house being burgarlized, he called 911, then went outside and started shooting. They even said the autopsy report says they were killed by shotgun pellets in their backs.
First off, you don't go outside into harm's way. Second, you don't shoot someone who is running away. If they were in his house or he had been outside during all of this already, and these guys went after him, then open fire. But I got neither of those thoughts from what I heard and saw. And shots to the back typically say the guys were running away.
I am not for defending the rights of criminals, believe me. I do, however, strongly support the idea that you do not shoot someone in the back. Just my two cents, even if it ain't worth that much.
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