Former Revere police officer, Todd Randall, was sentenced on Tuesday in federal court after pleading guilty to lying to the FBI during questioning about a public corruption investigation.

Randall, 40, was sentenced to four months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release, during which he must stay away from drugs, alcohol and weapons, and undergo substance abuse and mental health treatment according to the Boston Globe.

The defendant met with an FBI cooperating witness back in January 2010 and accepted $200 in exchange for Randall’s help in compromising a  pending case in state court for the witness’ friend. On the same day, officials observed Randall going to the home of the cooperating witness while he was on duty (in uniform and driving a marked police vehicle).  He then was seen and photographed exiting the cruiser and entering the home of the witness.

In March 2011, Randall was questioned by FBI agents regarding his relationship with the witness and the friend,  and his involvement in trying to flub the case.  Randall falsely denied knowing any of the aforementioned parties, and denied accepting money.  The defendant was questioned twice and warned that lying to the agents was a federal crime.

“I have no reason to lie to ya fellas,” Randall told the agents.

The former officer was also involved in a tussle with a community blogger in Septemer when he smacked the blogger in the head at a Dunkin’ Donuts.  The initial blow led to a brawl, from which Randall found himself smacked with more criminal charges.

Randall’s sentence will begin on January 30.

In a video released on Friday, a University of California, Davis police officer is shown spraying student protesters sitting peaceably with pepper spray at a close range. UC Davis police chief, Annette Spicuzza defended the action in a press conference on Saturday, saying “The students had encircled the officers. They needed to exit. They were looking to leave but were unable to get out.”

Linda P.B. Katehi, chancellor, said, according to the Los Angeles Times, “It left me with a very bad feeling of what went on. There was enough information to show that we need to take a serious look at what happened”. Originally, Katehi authorized the removal of tents from the grounds, but not the use of pepper spray.

Students and faculty of UC Davis have been expressing their anger with how the police force handled the situation. Nathan Brown, an assistant professor of English said in an open letter “Without any provocation whatsoever, other than the bodies of these students sitting where they were on the ground, with their arms linked, police pepper-sprayed students. Students remained on the ground, now writhing in pain, with their arms linked.”

Eleven students were treated for injuries, two of which were transported to the hospital. Ten students were arrested, but all have been released.

A toxicology report yields no conclusions in the odd death of a Boston College student in March.  The report found no narcotics in the body of Alexander Grant, who was found dead in Putnam Brook after visiting his friends at Skidmore College.

“The Grant family has made a public statement in which it is indicated that no narcotic drugs were found in Alex’s system.  We can verify the accuracy of the Grant family statement regarding the absence of any narcotic drugs in the autopsy report, however since the investigation is continuing we will not comment at this time regarding any other results,” said the Saratoga Police Department.

Grant was found in the brook after a three-day search last March.  Surveillance video from a medical office building near the brook shows Grant breaking into the building in the early morning of March 6.  Grant was shown wearing only a T-shirt, boxer shorts and a sock, and seemed very disoriented.  He injured himself during the break in, according to the Saratogian. The last time Grant was seen alive was March 5, at a friend’s party at Skidmore College.

Authorities were counting on the Toxicology report to help decipher Grant’s odd behavior, but it did not answer any questions.

Grant’s family released a statement thanking the Saratoga police for their help and support and asking those who know about Grant’s death to come forward.

“We view it as our solemn responsibility to do everything in our power to better understand this tragedy, and will continue our labors in this regard for as long as it takes to obtain the answers to which we are entitled,” said the statement.

The case is still under investigation.

Just three episodes into the season and we’ve already had two officers down on Rookie Blue. Don’t forget an engagement and a fairly numerous amount of sexual advances from more than one direction. The great thing about Rookie Blue, however, is not found in the things that surprise you but in the things we keep coming back for; the friendships, the building back stories, the budding relationships, and the things that the characters experience as cops that we as viewers experience in our own lives.

Rookie Blue is a little bit like the Grey’s Anatomy of the cop drama world with a hint more grit and a few less mortal gun shots. We wait through the commercials every episode to see the resolution of the latest uprisings in the 15 Division crime world but we come back episode after episode to follow the emotions of the characters we have grown to love.

For those who are just catching up here’s the quick run through; Strong willed and heart driven, Andy McNally (Missy Pregrym) will not admit she is torn between to lovers but we, as well as her training officer Sam Swarek (Ben Bass), know that she is. However, the last episode, left her sweet-heart with a history of dating in the division, Detective, fiancé, Luke, (Eric Johnson) in critical condition with some gun-shot injuries. The world’s most awesome bro-pair Dov (Gregory Smith) and Chris (Travis Milne) are having some roommate issues when Chris’s girl friend, snark-queen, women in charge, Gail (Charlotte Sullivan) starts spending a little too much time in the apartment. Sticking to her stubborn guns Gail doesn’t take no for an answer and has begun befriending Dov as much as their butting heads will allow it. And last, but certainly not least, of the rooks, Traci (Enuka Okuma) is torn between choosing the right man for her or who she thinks is the right man for her family.

While we have family talk on the tips of our tongues, Noelle, one of the many bossy yet brilliant training officers our Rookies have to answer to may be starting one of her own. Last season she was grasping at straws and anything else she could get her hands on in an effort to have a baby. Just last week she backed away a little from the Staff Sergeant position opportunity which could definitely mean there is a little one on the way for fifteen.

The personal stories of the Rookies have only continued to grow as we learn more now about Dov’s brother, after learning a little bit last season about where Chris has come from, and the family drama surrounding Andy and her father. With the Peck family practically living out of 15 division we can only hope for some more family back story from them as the season progresses.

At the start of the season we were a little worried that, while the relationships and personal stuff were back in full-force, the cop drama, while always intense, seemed to have grown a little bit repetitive. There are only so many times you can see Andy almost get herself into trouble before you realize that she is pretty kick-ass and will always take care of business. However, the past episode made us swallow our tongues. With this being around the time we heard about a season two renewal last year we can only hope that this weeks cliff-hanger and couple-drama will make Rookie Blue a shoe-in for renewal because frankly, we just cannot get enough.

A Lowell police officer was charged with raping prostitutes and soliciting prostitution while on duty.

Officer Aravanh Lakmany was indicted on Thursday, according to the Middlesex District Attorney’s office.

Lakmany allegedly solicited several prostitutes beginning in 2009 during his night shifts for the Lowell Police Department. Prosecuters say he asked the women to get into his cruiser or personal car and drove them to a secluded area to engage in sexual acts.

The officer told one prostitute he would not arrest her if she had sex with him, according to prosecutors.

According to the Associated Press, a woman answered Lakmany’s home phone and said “no comment,” and hung up.

Arlington Police arrested a Maine man on Tuesday after he allegedly threatened police officers and a dispatcher.

Christopher Loder, 40, of Palermo, Maine allegedly phoned in a threat on Saturday, saying he was going to beat up two Arlington police officers, bring a group of military friends and “spray” the officers with an AK-47 and AR-15, and said he was going to injure the dispatcher as well.

Police charged Loder with three counts of threatening to commit a crime, according to Captain Robert Bongiorno.

Loder is a former Arlington resident and had an extensive criminal history with the Arlington Police.

After “intensive investigation,” detectives confirmed Loder was staying in Arlington, but his residence was in Maine. Police took him into custody at his friend’s house at 26 Grove Street.

Loder was arraigned in Cambridge District Court on Wednesday where he pleaded not guilty.

Lawrence Mayor William Lantigua apologized yesterday for criticizing one of his police detectives on a Spanish radio station over the weekend for allegedly not aggressively investigating a case where Lantigua said he was almost hit by a car.

In a statement, Lantigua apologized, calling his remarks “inappropriate” on WCCM 1110-AM.

In his remarks, Lantigua said he was treated “like a criminal” after he reported that he and an aide were nearly struck by a Ford sedan. He also insinuated that the police might plant evidence against him.

The remarks couldn’t have come at a worse time, as Lantigua and the police have already been at odds for more than a month after Lantigua suggested the Lawrence police were lazy about responding to and investigating crime. He also blamed police for a rise in auto thefts, despite the fact that Lawrence laid off nearly a quarter of the department last year, forcing the police department to eliminate its specialized units, including the gang and auto theft units, in order to adequately fill patrol requirements.

There is also a massive cultural significance behind the comments made by the state’s first Latino mayor. Lawrence is predominantly Latino, and remarks like that, on a Spanish-language radio station, may fuel fires of distrust between the police and community and dissuade people from reporting crime or cooperating with police.

In an Associated Press report, the Lawrence patrolmen’s union blasted Lantigua for the remarks and criticized him for reporting the incident more than a day after it happened.

The action-packed cop drama, The Chicago Code, immediately starts off with a thrilling ride, literally. In its third episode, Detective Jarek Wysocki (Clarke) and his rather youthful partner, Caleb Evers (Lauria), rush to a bank that is currently being robbed. Teresa Colvin (Beals), police superintendent and resident tough girl, sternly reports the address of the armed robbery over the police radio. With their guns drawn, Jarek and Caleb enter the bank with out an ounce of hesitation. The energy of the fast-paced introduction to the show definitely grabs you immediately.

Jarek and Caleb are in the midst of a game of cat and mouse. We receive snapshots of their chaotic hunt: a quick drive in the cop car to a ride on the subway to a good old-fashioned chase. The trail ends on a street corner; a man who has just been shot in the head is lying there surrounded by a pool of blood. Jarek soon notices the tracking device on the floor, too. Uh-oh, it looks like these cops are now flying blind. Roll the credits.

The episode centers around a delusional, mentally ill bank robber who seemingly has no qualms with shooting anyone that crosses him. Armed with a machine gun, the man is extremely perilous and a huge threat to the city of Chicago.

Our leading lady, Teresa, is hard at work in trying to clean up the city. But, as always, Teresa is never able to avoid conflict. It seems as if her favoritism towards Jarek as well as her hard-ass reputation is undeniably affecting the outcome of many situations.

Though, I must say, her close-knit bond with Jarek is quite endearing. I am beginning to feel much adulation for these two. Of course, that is, a professional adulation…for now. I suspect (and secretly hope) for some romantic story line to emerge between them. Romance aside, Jarek and Teresa have such a strong foundation of trust that you begin to wonder if that kind of bond exists in your own life. As magnificent as that may be, however, their relationship is also the basis for much trouble. Even though they seem like some of the only people who actually give a damn, many are not the biggest fans of Jarek and Teresa.

Due to Caleb being Jarek’s partner, he is also on the outskirts of the police family. They are considered to be the best in the city of Chicago, but not even their own people want to be associated with them. Caleb wonders if it is all worth it. He is with the legendary Jarek; Teresa gives Jarek his own personal choice of cases to be assigned to, which in turn, benefits Caleb. Not too shabby, eh? So he wonders, stay with Jarek and forfeit the benefits of camaraderie and protection, or walk away from quite possibly the best partner and job opportunity he may ever encounter?

The show is definitely picking up steam. The third episode is my favorite by far, and it does a wonderful job of adding layers to each character. The more we know about these people, the more we invest in them. And, oh boy, does this episode get interesting. For the past two episodes we have seen very little of Alderman Gibbon. But what we have seen is this: Teresa is extremely wary of this guy. She is convinced that he is shady and lends a helping hand to the crime world. Well, episode three definitely tackles our suspicions. Gibbon is officially the villain of the show. He is evil, corrupt, fearless, and will virtually do anything in order to uphold his power. What do you know, Teresa is spot on. Operation: Destroy Gibbon is green lighted.

After Teresa’s suspicions are more or less confirmed, she and Jarek hound a dominant man involved in the Irish mob. They want him to spill the beans on Gibbon. Of course, he doesn’t. Though, a few scenes later, he threatens to ruin Gibbon. Bad move, man. Gibbon let’s the guy walk away. At first, I think, wow, Gibbon is kind of weak here. Not much like the monster I expect him to be. I embarrassedly underestimate the guy. Planting a box full of grotesque child pornography in the man’s garage certainly makes me see his true colors. It doesn’t stop there. When Teresa’s Chief of Staff offers his services to Gibbon he accepts it whole-heartedly. The deal: in exchange for an added stipend as well as Teresa’s job once she leaves, he will keep Gibbon updated on everything going on in Teresa’s office. Well, that whole idea can be a bit frustrating and cliché, right? The writers thinks so, too. By the end of the episode, we soon learn that Gibbon recorded the entire conversation and reveals it to the press. Teresa’s office takes a huge blow. Sneaky, sneaky. It seems as if no one can stop him.

We find out that Gibbon even has an ulterior motive in appointing Teresa to superintendent. He thinks she will be easy to control. We can finally take a breather, because Gibbon is certainly wrong about that. A few glitches in the road, yes. Many more to come, of course. It’s only the third episode. But Teresa is one tough lady. She knows that this man needs to be destroyed, and this episode further proves how motivated she is to do so. Plus, it doesn’t hurt to have hunky Jarek on your side. He undoubtedly has his former partners back until the end.

The show mostly avoids your typical cop show clichés; it truly brings in some fresh ideas. Due to the show possessing an extreme high-intensity within most scenes, sometimes it does not always breath. Despite that, though, it keeps us interested and involved. My attention is always on that television screen. The characters are really starting to develop nicely. The show does not solely focus on crime. It gives these people a voice as well as opinions. It is a nice departure from the usual fictional shows we have been seeing. I think I will officially go on record and say that I am a fan. When I am officially hooked on something, I know it because I season pass it on TiVo. Well, full series is now recorded.

Police don't want this happening at a sex offender's home. (Media credit/Belinda Hankins Miller via Flickr)

When the doorbell rang at sex offenders’ doors last night, it wasn’t trick-or-treaters — it was the police.

Probation officers and local police across the state made unannounced visits to sex offenders on Halloween to remind them not to offer candy to children. This effort was in addition to numerous other precautions made in preparation for the holiday, including warning sex offenders by mail, phone, and in person over the past two weeks to not answer their doors, turn on outside lights or decorate their properties for Halloween. One county even monitored the activity of sex offenders who wear electronic bracelets.

Michael L. Koperniak, an assistant chief probation officer for the Berkshire County Superior Court, said, “We encourage probationers to be very mindful. If they are home on Halloween night, we caution them against going out for a walk in the community.”

Martin Wallace, Essex County Superior Court’s chief probation officer, said that it’s routine for probation officers to remind sex offenders of the “no contact” order, and that this is especially important during Halloween, when children might be knocking on their doors.

“It’s common sense,” he said. “It’s Halloween. Don’t be around children and don’t be passing out candy.”

Photo courtesy of Belinda Hankins Miller via Flickr

A Sears surveillance video image of the woman who allegedly met the victims at the Plaza

The Braintree Police Department is investigating a report from two Rhode Island residents who claim that they were scammed out of $3,600 outside of the Sears at the South Shore Plaza on Monday.

One of the men claimed that he was approached by a male customer on Monday morning at his place of business, a coffee shop, who said that he “knew a guy” who could sell him TVs for a good price. The customer gave the man a phone number, and when he called, he spoke to an unidentified individual who offered to sell him two 55-inch Samsung TVs, two 46-inch Samsung TVs, and four Samsung Blu-Ray 3d Kits for $3,600.

When the two men arrived at the Sears to pick up the merchandise, they were greeted by a woman wearing a Sears name tag. The woman gave the men an authentic-looking Sears receipt for the electronics, took the $3,600, and put the men on the phone with the unidentified individual who had been contacted earlier. The woman then told the men to wait while she had the merchandise brought out to them.

The men then waited an hour for the woman to return with the electronics before realizing that they had been scammed. Sears loss prevention has confirmed that the authentic-looking Sears receipt the woman had provided was a fake. Sears loss prevention was also able to pull up an image of the woman from their surveillance video.

SAN DIEGO — A police officer died Thursday after a shootout that began Wednesday evening. A man and woman were also found dead in an apartment police were raiding with an arrest warrant.

Officer Christopher A. Wilson, 50, served on the San Diego Police Department for 17 years. He died at Sripps Mercy Hospital in Hillcrest early Thursday morning. His son, daughter, ex-wife, and 80 officers had held vigil at the hospital.

Wilson was a Navy lieutenant prior to joining the Police Department in 1993. He served on the SWAT team and was a training officer. He spent his career in the Southeastern Division.

“He was popular, funny, extremely bright and a consummate professional,” said San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders, during a news conference. “It was routine for other officers to pay him the compliment by calling him ‘good cover.’ In other words, you always knew Officer Wilson had your back.”

The shootout began Wednesday evening around 10:45 when officers approached Canyon View Apartments on South Meadowbrook Drive to check on a man on probation, as well as serve an arrest warrant on another man for assault with a deadly weapon.

Someone opened the door then slammed it on the officers. The officers kicked down the door and took the probationer into custody and the man wanted for assault barricaded himself in the bedroom.

At least six San Diego police officers entered the apartment and the gunman shot at them, hitting Wilson. Officers returned fire.

Ryan Davis, a resident of another apartment, told the San Diego Union-Tribune he heard six to 12 shots fired from what sounded like handguns and a shotgun.

Wilson was carried down the stairs while the rookie he was training, as well as an injured canine officer and his handler were trapped in a bedroom in the apartment.

A man who only identified himself as Luis watched the siege from a grocery store parking lot across the street wearing a Red Cross blanket and bright blue socks. He told The Associated Press he was in a downstairs apartment with his wife and two small children when he heard gunfire.

“I just hear like a big boom, then they exchanged some words, then I heard ‘Officer down! Officer down!,’” he said.

Luis said he rushed to his window and saw police carrying another officer with a blood-covered neck and face down the stairs.

The incident ended around 6:45 a.m. Thursday. Numerous attempts to contact the people inside led the SWAT team to use explosives to blow a hole through the wall of an adjoining apartment unit in order to use a camera to see inside.

The bodies of a man and woman were discovered inside. It has not been determined if they died in the shootout or if the wounds were self-inflicted. Firearms were found near both of them.

The last time a county law enforcement died was July 23, 2009 when Border Patrol Agent Robert Rosas Jr., 30, was killed on patrol near Shockey Truck Trail in Campo. A San Diego city police officer hasn’t been killed in the line of duty since 1991, when Ronald W. Davis, 24, died while dealing with a family disturbance call.

A Framingham Police Department detective face charges he pointed a gun at a man when the he complained that the on-duty cop was urinating on his property.

Scott Brown, 38, of Mendon, was indicted by a Middlesex grand jury on charges of assault with a dangerous weapon and making threats.

According to Middlesex District Attorney Gerard T. Leone, on April 29, Brown was working but not in uniform and was driving an unmarked car. He allegedly urinated on private property, and when the victim’s wife saw the unknown vehicle parked on the property from her window, she went outside to investigate.

When the alleged victim’s wife went outside, she saw Brown urinating and demanded to know what he and his partner were doing on their property.

Brown allegedly told her to “Stop looking.”

The cop and his his partner got back in their car and started driving away.

Then, the alleged victim got in a golf cart and drove toward the officer, stopping next to the car as it was pulling away.

Leone said the man asked what was going on, and Brown exchanged words with him before getting out of the car, drawing his firearm, pointing it at the man and saying “move it or get shot.”

The whole thing was allegedly captured on surveillance video.

The wife called 911. Framingham Police Internal Affairs investigated with Leone’s office.

A former Framingham Police Department employee was arraigned Tuesday, charged with illegally issuing firearm licenses, said Middlesex District Attorney Gerard T. Leone.

Kelly McKinstry, 46, of Framingham, was arraigned in Framingham District Court on charges of falsifying a firearm license/FID card, false statement on firearm ID card application, and false report by a public employee.

Framingham District Court Judge Healy released her on personal recognizance. She is due back in court November 10 for a pre-trial haering.

McKinstry was a civilian employee assigned to the department’s licensing bureau and was fired for the alleged offenses.

Police began investigating McKinstry in February with the lieutenant assigned to the bureau noticed that two licenses he approved as Class D (restricted pepper spray only) Firearm Identification Cards where entered
by the employee as Class A (large capacity firearm) licenses in the Massachusetts Instant Records Check System database.

The lieutenant then audited the firearms license application files and the MIRCS database.

He found 44 applications, nearly all from soldiers, which were suspect.

Several licenses were never submitted for review and approval by the lieutenant as required, but were processed and issued to people who gave fake addresses.

The illegal licenses also include Class E licenses, which are licenses for machine guns.

All the licenses were pulled and 19 firearms were confiscated.

Maryland state troopers were not really smiling at the "U Smile" singer last Sunday.

According to a state police spokesperson on WBAL-TV, 16-year-old pop sensation Justin Bieber was “horsing around with members of his staff” backstage at the Maryland State Fair on Sunday in Timonium, Md and he chucked water balloons at two troopers.

One balloon hit a trooper’s gun belt before it burst, and the other balloon sideswiped a trooper on the chest. The state trooper, monitoring crowd control at the concert on security guard duty, unfortunately, was soaked below the belt by a direct balloon hit. He was ready to slap the cuffs on the teen pop sensation prior to his sold-out gig, but Bieber’s bodyguard somehow managed to talk him out of it.

After all, however, according E! News, a state police spokesman described Bieber’s behavior Sunday as “inappropriate,” but he confirmed that no incident report was written and no further action will be taken against the teen.

Bieber tweeted late that night, “Still laughing. GREAT DAY.”

A Quincy police lieutenant suffered second-degree burns on Friday when his propane grill exploded, the Patriot Ledger reported.

Kevin Tobin was burned on his right leg, right arm, and left hand. He was treated and released from Massachusetts General Hospital.

His uncle, Quincy District Court chief magistrate Arthur Tobin told the Patriot Ledger that the lieutenant had just brought the grill out to his driveway when it exploded. Neighbors rushed over to help him.

The police unions across the state have planned a major labor protest against state policies today at 2 p.m. in Plymouth during an AFL/CIO conference that Governor Deval Patrick is expected to attend.

The Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association, the Massachusetts Coalition of Police, the International Brotherhood of Police Officers, the Boston Police Detective’s Benevolent Society, Boston Police Superior Officers Federation, the Boston EMS union, and several other smaller unions across the state will be protesting at the Radisson Hotel during the AFL/CIO State of Unions conference “to call attention to Governor Patrick’s unjust and disgraceful attacks upon all Police Officers,” the unions jointly said in a statement today.

Police claim that the state government has denied them fair collective bargaining rights, and unions are still steaming about issues, including civilian flaggers at construction sites and retirement benefits.

Patrick’s public schedule has him speaking at the conference at 3 p.m. today.

“The protest is being held by police officers and their families and will force the Governor to answer, to the public and organized labor, for his continued anti-labor, anti-police positions and policies,” the unions said in a statement.

“The Governor needs to be held accountable to these families,” said Thomas Nee, the President of the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association and President of the 300,000-member National Association of Police Organizations. “He has disgracefully attacked the laws governing the collective bargaining rights and benefits of these police officers, as well as all organized labor, across the state. By doing so he has impacted their families and their quality of life. These are the same men and women sworn to uphold the law and protect the public. Governor Patrick is now using these dedicated public servants as props in his ill-advised strategy for his re-election. It is my duty as a labor leader to call on the family of labor and direct their attention to Patrick’s anti-labor attacks. He promised transparency but has worked in the backrooms to deliver the worst leadership for working men and women we have seen in this generation."

Editor’s note: After several weeks of on-again, off-again debate, a controversial forum at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst was held in November focusing on sedition and a related trial in the 1980s. The key note speaker was going to be Ray Luc Levasseur, founder of the radical United Freedom Front. In 1981, a United Freedom Front member shot and killed a New Jersey state trooper named Philip Lamonaco. Law enforcement agencies from around the country rallied and pressured college and government officials. In the end, Levasseur, who is on parole, was not allowed to leave his home state of Maine and did not take part in the forum. Hundreds of police showed up anyway to protest the forum.

Now, the United Freedom Front was active in the 1970s. Generation Y’ers don’t remember them. But some do. One of us who remembers the UFF all too well is Sarah Lamonaco, 28. She’s trooper Lamonaco’s daughter, and she was 10 months old when her dad was murdered. This is her story. — John M. Guilfoil, Editor-in-chief.

Sarah Lamonaco

On December 21,1981 Trooper Lamonaco was murdered on Route 80 in the state of New Jersey, leaving behind a wife of 6 years, Donna, and his three children, Laura, 5; Michael, 4; and me, Sarah, 10 months old. That day changed our lives forever.

December 21 is and will be the hardest day of my life. I never had the chance to know my Father. I learn about him through the pictures and memories my family shares, but the pictures do not have his voice or his smell, his laugh or many other things that I will not know about him. I remember being the only child in the classroom at school to make a Mother’s Day card when it was Father’s Day. On my college graduation day I wondered if he was proud of me. I wonder who will walk me down the aisle on my wedding day.

I didn’t choose growing up and learning that daddy was never coming home. My mom tells me a story of us in the car and I asked her for Jesus’s phone number because I had to ask my dad a question and that is where he went so it made sense, right? If it was that easy it would have been great. So I had to think of another way to speak to him. My family and I later wrote a letter on a balloon and sent it up to the sky for my dad. We often go and make sure his spot at the cemetery was the best looking spot around. Looking back at all these things that I did helped me cope with my dad not being here, I know went through a part of my life where I felt alone — that nobody else know what I was going through. All my friends had fathers at sporting events and school functions, and most of all they had a father who came home at night for dinner.

I spent many years not knowing where to put these feeling. One day in the 1980s, my Mom became President of Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.). We went to Washington D.C. and I learned that I was not alone. Many other children have gone through what I have and were feeling what I felt. I finally learned that it’s OK to think about him and miss him and to talk about him. I may not be a “normal” girl and have a living, breathing father, but I had one thing many don’t. I have a angel with me all the time. I took my anger and confusion and turned it to a positive outlook. I stopped wondering how I was going to do things with out my father and I found ways to make him a part of my life. When the class made a Father’s Day card I became strong enough to make one and tell the class that I made it for my Dad and would put it on his grave site. When I graduated, I looked up and said thank you for helping me get through this path and keeping me strong. The one that I have not had to deal with and will be bittersweet is my wedding day. I know the perfect way to have my dad with me on that day and that is to walk alone and have my flowers in his hat. I always said my dad would walk me down the aisle, and he will.

Today I am 28 years old, and I still think about my father just as much as I did when I was young. Life has been hard for my family, but I have had an amazingly strong mother who raised three of us. I am very proud of my Fathe,r and I am proud to be Trooper Lamonaco’s daughter. I still attend a rally in Washington D.C. every year to honor my father. For any other child out there who has lost a parent, know that life is what you make of it. We all have bumps in the road. Ours are biger than most, but we need to find away around them and know that our loved ones are always with us.

This year, as in the past, my father’s stocking hung on our fireplace filled with all the love, joy and a pride that only a girl could have for her dad.

Maurice Clemmons has a lengthy criminal record (Handout/Pool photo)

SEATTLE — Maurice Clemmons, the suspect in the brutal, execution-style slaying of four Parkland, Wash. police officers, was shot and killed Tuesday morning in the South Seattle area after confronting police.

Police said they found one of the dead officer’s guns on Clemmons.

Several other people in the Seattle and Tacoma areas have been arrested and face charges of aiding and abetting the alleged cop killer. Police said they arrested the suspected getaway driver who helped Clemmons escape Parkland after he allegedly walked into a coffee shop and gunned down Parkland Sergeant Mark Renninger, 39, and Officers Ronald Owens, 37, Tina Griswold, 40, and Greg Richards, 42.

Authorities expect several arraignments in the next few days.

Clemmons was a lifetime criminal, with nearly a dozen felony collars.

Police would not say how they found Clemmons of give details on the confrontation that led to the suspect’s demise.

Maurice Clemmons has a lengthy criminal record (Handout/Pool photo)

SEATTLE — Maurice Clemmons, the suspect in the massacre of four police officers in the Tacoma suburb of Parkland, was, in fact, shot by one of the officers he allegedly killed, police said today.

“He has been shot,” said Ed Troyer, a spokesman for the Pierce County Sheriff, who has been dealing with media inquiries since the incident yesterday. “He may be deceased from his gunshot wound.”

Police believe Clemmons may have walked into a coffee shop and killed, execution style, Parkland Sergeant Mark Renninger, 39, and Officers Ronald Owens, 37, Tina Griswold, 40, and Greg Richards, 42.

Clemmons is a lifetime criminal, with nearly dozen felony collars.

He was pardoned by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee nine years ago after assaulting a police officer.

Police surrounded a nearby home late Sunday and were trying to negotiate with Clemmons, but he was apparently not in the home.

This is a special report from Blast West with Bradley Ouellette on the ground in Washington.

SEATTLE — The gunman burst in with murder on his mind early this morning. Four police officers sat in a coffee shop just outside Parkland, a Tacoma suburb 40 miles south of Seattle. They were working on their laptops, preparing to start their shifts — three men and a woman — when the shots rang out. It was an ambush. None survived.

The officers, representing five of 100 members of the Parkland Police Department, were gunned down at around 8:15 a.m. Pacific Standard Time.

Lakewood Police Chief Bret Farrar identified the four slain police officers notifying their families. "All four of our slain officers had been with this department since it started five years ago,” Farrar said.

The four slain are:

• Sergeant Mark Renninger, 39. He had 13 years of law enforcement experience and leaves a wife and three children.
• Officer Ronald Owens, 37. He had 12 years of law enforcement experience and leaves a former wife and a daughter.
• Officer Tina Griswold, 40. She had 14 years of law enforcement experience. She leaves her husband and two children.
• Officer Greg Richards, 42. He had eight years of law enforcement experience and leaves his wife and three children.

Police are searching for a man named Maurice Clemmons and have tagged him as a person of interest in connection with the horrific shooting.

Clemmons, according to the Seattle Times, has a long criminal history and was pardoned in Arkansas by then-Governor Mike Huckabee nine years ago. The Times reports Clemmons’ record includes five felony convictions in Arkansas and at least eight felony charges in Washington.

Sherri Badger, Public Information Manger for Washington’s Pierce County Emergency Management department told Blast that witnesses described the shooter as black, between 5’8″ and 5’10″ wearing a black coat and blue jeans with a “scruffy face.”

Parkland, a newly incorporated city only 14 years old, is left trying to make sense out of a national tragedy.

“Shock. Shock and sadness,” said Hunter George, a spokesman for Pierce County, Washington, in an interview with Blast. “The fact that someone would gun down four police officers in cold blood is almost too much to imagine”

Parkland Police Officer Ed Troyer said officers frequent the Forza Coffee Shop because of its central location in the city. The shop, The Associated Press reported, is owned by a retired cop.

One of the slain officers may have gotten a shot off, Troyer said, but none of them were prepared for what happened. “This was more of an execution,” Troyer said. “The officers were sitting there with a computer going over their paperwork, which is also a normal activity on a Sunday morning before their shift starts.”

Troyer believes the officers were targeted. Investigators do not believe the gunman came into the shop to rob it but instead to kill police officers.

The pacific northwest has seen an unusual string of these kinds of brazen shootings in the past two years. Six people were shot at a gas station last year.

On Halloween, Seattle Police Officer Timothy Brenton was shot and killed while sitting in a cruiser with a rookie cop. The trainee, Britt Sweeney was grazed in the neck. Christopher Monfort, 41, who also allegedly firebombed four police cars in October, was arrested for the shooting after he was injured in a shootout with police in early November. He’s still in an area hospital.

Authorities do not believe the shootings are connected.

Troyer said that the department has had tremendous support from other police departments. Nearby McChord Air Force Base in Tacoma even offered assistance.

The shooting does not appear to be gang related. “For a gang member it would be way out of the box,” he said, “and they don’t like the attention.”

George said authorities are doing their best to reassure this city’s 24,000 residents that they’re safe. “We’re trying to reassure everyone,” George said. “There’s a massive manhunt going on.”

Washington Governor Chris Gregoire said she was “shocked and horrified” upon hearing about the shooting.

“Our police put their lives on the line every day, and tragedies like this remind us of the risks they continually take to keep our communities safe,” Gregoire said in a statement. “My heart goes out to the family, friends and co-workers of these officers, as well as the entire law enforcement community.”

In a joint statement released to Blast, Parkland Mayor Douglas Richardson and City Manager Andrew Neiditz said the shooting was the “most tragic event in Lakewood’s 14 years as a city.”

“We lost four of our finest in a shocking, heartbreaking, and senseless murder,” the officials said. “Our hearts, thoughts, and prayers are with the families and colleagues of these innocent victims during this extraordinarily difficult time.”

The slain officers were all part of Lakewood’s original police department, which was created just five years ago. All transferred to Lakewood as commissioned law enforcement officers from other communities. The department is currently seeking accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, and a team from the commission is due in the city next Saturday to review the new department for the prized accredited status.

“Once we have fully notified extended family members, we will release the identities of the slain officers,” the mayor and town manager said.

Those with information on the crime should call 866-977-2362.

The union representing the UMASS Amherst campus police announced Wednesday that officers who work overtime details required for security if/when Ray Luc Levasseur speaks on campus November 12 will donate all of their pay from that day to a memorial fund set up for a New Jersey state trooper killed in a wave of violence between 1976 and 1984 by a radical group Levasseur was involved with.

Levasseur was released from federal prison in 2004 after serving 18 years for his involvement in United Freedom Front. The group was linked to shootouts with police, bank robberies, and a series of bombings. He was invited to be part of a panel Thursday night speaking about terrorism. The news has sparked outrage from law enforcement and political leaders and very little defense from freedom of speech advocates.

As is with any controversial, or even outwardly unpopular event, police have to be present to maintain peace. This happens all the time — even black officers have been forced to work security details protecting Ku Klux Klan members marching down city streets across the country.

“The (International Brotherhood of Police Officers, Local 432) union leadership wishes it to be recognized that the Local, on behalf of the Officers who will be forced to work this event for public safety concerns plan to donate all proceeds obtained for working this
paid over-time detail to the National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund in the name of Fallen New Jersey State Trooper Philip Joseph Lamonaco,” said Gerald Perkins, a union spokesman.

Annie Le, 24, went missing on Tuesday. Credit: Yale University

Police at Yale University have issued a missing person’s report on 24-year-old Pharmacology student Annie Le. Le, according to police, left her purse, money and credit cards, her cell phone and all of her identification behind before vanishing earlier this week.

Le was last seen wearing “a knee length brown skirt, bright green short sleeved T-shirt, brown shoes and a brown necklace” the New Haven Register reports. She was last seen outside Yale’s School of Medicine on 10 Amistad St., this past Tuesday.

Le has no medical conditions that could explain her absence, and apparently has no access to a vehicle. She is 4-foot-11 inches tall and of Asian descent with brown eyes and straight shoulder-length brown hair, weighing about 90 pounds.

CNN reports Le was scheduled to be married Sunday to Columbia University grad student Jonathan Widawsky. Widawsky has not heard from his fiancƒ©e. Le’s family is assisting Yale, Connecticut and New Haven police, as well as the FBI, with the case.

Anyone with any information is urged to contact the Yale Police Department at 203-432-4400.

No, Boston is not in the grips of a mad scientist with anthrax. Nor is it under siege from a series of terrorist briefcase bombs.

It was pot, marijuana, Mary Jane, grass, weed and a whole lot of it that tied up half the emergency services in the city Thursday afternoon.

Mailroom workers at One Financial Center found a “white powdery substance” on a package around noontime and called 911. Fire fighters quarantined the four exposed workers and ran through decontamination protocols to clear them, said Steve MacDonald, a spokesman for the Boston Fire Department.

Fire officials eventually called out a Level 3 Hazardous Materials Incident, requiring anyone entering the building to don specialized Hazmat suits for safety.

Tests determined that the white powder was in fact laundry detergent.

But when they took a closer look at the package, fire fighters found a briefcase beneath the detergent. So they called in the Boston Police Bomb Squad to investigate. They x-rayed the briefcase and determined it was not bomb.

Then U.S. Postal Police were called in to take custody of the package and another suspicious package with the same address and handwriting.

Postal Police found 45 pounds of marijuana in the two packages. The detergent may have been an attempt to mask the marijuana, but it drew far more attention to it than anyone could have imagined.

No one was injured, sickened, or given the munchies as a result of the powder, briefcase or pot.

More women are being attacked in the North End, in mirror images incidents that have been going on for the past several years.

On Friday around 9:30 p.m. a woman told police she was walking near Prince Street in Boston’s “Little Italy” when a man attacked her with a knife. She fended him off and was able to escape with minor scrapes.

Before that, on April 4, a woman was walking near North Bennet Court when she was pushed suddenly pushed by what authorities believe is the same man, described as 5’10″ with an olive complexion and dark hair speaking with an accent.

Here are some tips from the Boston Police Department for ensuring personal safety:

• Always be aware of your surroundings, especially at night. When parking, walking or returning to your car, remain in well-lit and populated areas.
• Wear sneakers or shoes that allow for added mobility.
• Be watchful and aware. Keep your head up. Make quick eye contact with those around you and be observant of passing vehicles. Don’t become distracted by talking on a cell phone or listening to an iPod/similar device.
• Avoid walking alone late at night. Walk with friends and people you know.
• Keep a whistle within reach. If you feel threatened, use the whistle to signal residents that you need assistance. Yelling “Fire!” “Help!” and/or “Rape!” are ways of drawing attention and alerting people that you need help.
• Hold your car keys in your hand to use as a weapon against an attacker.
• Carry a cell phone.
• Call ahead to your destination to alert them that you’re on your way. Make sure they expect you at a certain time, so that in the event you fail to show up, they’ll know enough to begin looking for you.
• Walk with confidence. Be assertive. Don’t let anyone violate your space. Trust your instincts. Know this: anyone at anytime can be a victim of crime. Don’t assume, “IT WILL NEVER HAPPEN TO ME.”
• If an unarmed attacker confronts you, believe in your ability to scare, distract, or even incapacitate the attacker enough to escape.
• If you think that someone is following you, switch direction or cross the street. Walk toward an open store, restaurant or residence.

If you have any information on these attacks, call the Boston Police at 617-343-4400 or text TIP to 27463 to send an anonymous tip to the CrimeStoppers tip line.

BOSTON — Norfolk County District Attorney WIlliam R. Keating’s office has ruled that the March 28 fatal police shooting of Kerby Revelus as he murdered two and wounded another of his sisters was justified.

“The evidence clearly indicates that the actions of Milton Police that day spared the life of this young girl from the brother who had already succeeded in killing two of his sisters,” Keating said. “These actions were not only necessary and justified, but heroic and demonstrative of a high level of professionalism, integrity and bravery.”

Keating’s office reviewed evidence from the state and local police and the state Chief Medical Examiner’s office. Investigators also interviewed 9-year-old Saraphina Revelus, who survived the attack.

The following is an excerpt from the Massachusetts State Police investigation:

“From the initial 911 call made to Milton Police, until “¦ [the] reports, “Ëœshots fired suspect down’ a total time of approximately five minutes and fifty-two seconds had elapsed. In that span of time, Milton Police responded to the scene, gained entrance into the apartment, faced the above described situation, found the suspect in the bedroom, forced the bedroom door open and made several attempts, by shouting commands for him to give himself up, that can be clearly heard on the 911 tape, which he did not comply with. It was only when he lunged in a threatening manner towards the screaming nine-year-old child, cowering in a bedroom corner that officers were forced to use deadly force. It is reasonable to infer that had the Police Officers not acted in that manner, using deadly force, [the nine-year-old], who had already been stabbed approximately ten times and bleeding profusely, would have suffered additional grievous bodily injury or death at the hands of the suspect, Kerby Revelus.”

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, last April, when tornadoes were threatening Jackson, Mississippi, many residents were not alerted to the severe weather because five tornado warning sirens didn’t work. The reason: the sirens’ copper wiring had been stolen.

A month before that, 4,000 Polk County, Fla. residents were powerless when thieves ripped copper wire right off an electrical transformer, costing $500,000 to replace.

These cases and others, according to authorities, combine to form a very real threat to national security and American infrastructure.

“More and more since 9/11, we’re using intelligence to get our arms around emerging threats at the national level-not just when it comes to terrorism, but also in the criminal arena,” the FBI said in a statement recently. A recent FBI criminal intelligence report outlines the situation. It concluded that:

• “The demand for copper from developing nations such as China and India is creating a robust international copper trade,” and as the global supply of copper continues to tighten, “the market for illicit copper will likely increase.” From 2001 until 2008, the price of the metal has increased by more than 500 percent.
• The thieves-many of whom are drug addicts or gang members-may act individually or as part of organized groups and are interested in the quick cash they get from selling copper to scrap metal dealers.
• Their targets include electrical substations, railroads, security and emergency services, and other sensitive sites. Already, copper thefts have been responsible for shutting down railway systems and even 9-1-1 emergency systems.

“On the surface, it could be a relatively small theft,” said one FBI agent who specializes in major theft crimes and who commissioned the report after getting wind of the problem, “but the public safety impact could be significant.”

While the thieves may just be looking for a quick score and not mean to compromise national infrastructure, that’s just what’s happening, and the Feds are looking to find them and wrap thee thieves up heavy federal charges that include jail time.

The government has set up task forces between local, state an federal law enforcement agencies to combat the copper problem, which is particularly heavy in Nevada, where one thief now faces 20 years in prison.

A Bolivar, Tenn., police officer faces federal charges after he was allegedly caught selling pain killers to young girls at a local Sonic Drive-In.

WIlliam Patrick Jordan, 37, faces five years in prison and a $250,000 fine after an investigation revealed he was allegedly selling 50 to 70 hydrocodone pills twice a week for over a year at the restaurant, according to a statement from the Drug Enforcement Administration.

According to the charge, a confidential, undercover federal informant sold Jordan 40 hydrocodone tablets for $120, purportedly for resale. DEA agents swooped in and arrested Jordan, who was released on bond pending a hearing October 29. He faces charges of knowingly, unlawfully, and intentionally possessing hydrocodone with the intent to distribute.